Accelerating Life Science startups: SmiLe Bootcamp follow-up
Interview with: Isak Simonsson, Project Manager of SmiLe Bootcamp
In our previous article, we met up with the project manager, Isak Simonsson, to learn more about the education program, SmiLe Bootcamp, which offers training and a wide network for new Life Science entrepreneurs. The program is now in its third week, and we had a follow-up chat with Isak to see how everything is going.
How is the Bootcamp going?
The Bootcamp is in now in its 3rd week and the attendees are keen to learn everything from Regulatory Strategy to how to work with our Sustainable Development Guide. We developed the guide to simplify how companies’ work with the UN’s sustainability goals. There is a lot of positive energy and our delegates are working and supporting each other which is a great sign for the remaining weeks of the Bootcamp.
Did a lot of companies apply?
Even though we launched SmiLe Bootcamp in Spring this year, which gave companies a much shorter time to apply, we received approximately as many high-quality applications as previous years. We saw a much wider geographical spread this year, with quite a few candidates applying from outside Sweden.
What types of companies applied?
The applications came form a very varied set of companies, everything from nutrition and health to diagnostics, rehabilitation, and prevention. At the same time, we could see a few trends, for example we received quite a few applications that were connected to pregnancy. And as I mentioned previously it was exciting to see the geographical variation of the applicants, we received applications not only from all over Sweden, but from Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Israel!
What do you think the breadth of applications can tell us about Life Science innovation in Sweden?
They provide a very promising indicator for Life Science in the Nordics. Together with the entrepreneurs that have applied we see a mix of scientists, students and many who have worked in the industry previously, this indicates that more and more people see innovation and entrepreneurship as working possibility and a way to contribute to solving challenges in society. It’s also fantastic to see that so many international applicants see Sweden and SmiLe as an established place for innovation in Life Science.