From June 26–28, Ilia State University’s Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development, Zoomout, and FabLab successfully hosted the entrepreneurial bootcamp “From Idea to Product.”
This event implemented, in a hands-on and experience-based format, new approaches to entrepreneurial education developed within the university. These educational methodologies and parts of the curriculum were created as part of a visit to San Diego State University.
Participants worked in teams to tackle real-world social and technological challenges and developed innovative solutions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A special guest speaker for the bootcamp was Alex DeNoble, Professor Emeritus of Entrepreneurship at San Diego State University and author of “The Entrepreneur Within”. Between 2012 and 2023, he served as the Executive Director of SDSU’s Lavin Entrepreneurship Center.Professor DeNoble is the former president of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) and a current board member of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB). His work and academic focus encompass entrepreneurship, corporate innovation, and the commercialization of technologies. He brings many years of experience working with both startups and large tech companies.
Within the framework of the mentioned bootcamp, a public panel discussion titled “You Don’t Have to Quit Your Day Job: Embracing the Entrepreneur Within” was also held. Participants of the meeting received information on how to develop entrepreneurial skills alongside their professional activities and heard practical advice on intrapreneurship and career growth. The discussion was led by Tini Mamuchashvili, manager of Ilia State University’s pre-accelerator Zoomout and founder of the startup NEUROPILOT.
It’s worth noting that Professor Alex Denoble’s involvement offered the bootcamp participants a unique opportunity to learn directly from one of the leading international experts and gain inspiration from real-world experience.
The key stages of the bootcamp included:
- User research and empathy
- Idea generation and refinement
- Prototyping
- Mentoring sessions
- Preparing and delivering final presentations at Demo Day
The program was implemented within the framework of the project “‘Foster University Entrepreneurship Education (EE) Curricular and Co-curricular Reform’ which is a grantee of the Competitive Innovation Fund (CIF) created in frames of a program – “Georgia I2Q – Innovation, Inclusion and Quality” a joint program of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and the World Bank.”
