Winners of the Regional BioCamp 2016

The main topic of this year’s Regional BioCamp was Advanced medication for treating respiratory diseases in order to provide a better quality of life to patients suffering from these medical conditions. Since patients have always been the focus of the modern pharmaceutical industry, a 22-year-old cystic fibrosis patient, Alja Klara Ugovšek, shared her inspiring life story with the young talents. “It was a difficult time for me when I was fully dependent on others and couldn’t even breathe on my own. My only hope of a future was to receive a lung transplant and the surgery was a success. Despite the fact that the disease has remained a part of my life, I can live a full life now. In my opinion, young talents who help develop medications or work in the field of medicine should know the patients’ stories, needs and feelings, therefore it was a pleasure to join the Regional BioCamp.”

Case study encouraged the innovational drive in participants

“During these six years, the Regional BioCamp has evolved to a truly exceptional event and presents an excellent example of integration and cooperation between industry and the academic sphere. It is an inspiring experience from start to finish; from getting to know each other, traditional and casual Ljubljana sight-seeing the first day, listening to carefully selected scientists from different scientific areas and visiting our development laboratories to working on case studies with participants working in groups and impressing us with innovative ideas,” said Darja Ferčej Temeljotov, PhD, Head of Strategic Programs at Lek, a Sandoz company and the president of the organizing committee of the Regional BioCamp 2016.

An important part of the Regional BioCamp is the case study, where participants demonstrate the transfer of acquired knowledge into practice. The three winners and the best team were selected on the basis of participants’ active collaboration in teamwork – comprised of designing and presenting a business plan of how to introduce a newly developed medicine for the treatment of respiratory diseases on the market.

The winners participating at the Global BioCamp in Basel

Filip Cvetko from Oxford University, United Kingdom:
“To work in a team was an interesting experience for me. Until now, I have not worked in a team with such different professional background. It was very interesting to see how different aspects and ideas create such a unique business plan. Collaboration and consideration of participants’ ideas were crucial. The greatest challenge for us was choosing the right business model and deciding on who we would like to sell the service we developed to. I am overwhelmed for having the chance to participate at the Regional BioCamp, and of course I am very happy that I won.”

Nika Anžiček from Cambridge University, United Kingdom:
“It was quite interesting to work in team with people I didn’t know well. Usually, it is me who takes the lead and makes decisions; however, this time I took a step back so everybody got a chance to participate. We actually did a great job as a team: we worked together and were satisfied with the work accomplished. The greatest challenge was the presentation of ideas to investors. The Regional BioCamp is a really good opportunity for young talents. I learned a lot, especially about the business perspective on how to manage in a situation you are not familiar with. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.”

Ognen Jakasanovski from Skopje University, Macedonia:
“I was impressed with the group dynamics we managed to create in our team in such a short period of time. We had less than 24 hours to come up with an idea and prepare a presentation. Each and every one of us contributed to team work, despite our different knowledge, which made me realize and understand the importance of cooperation among different fields. Merging young talents from different fields and of different nationalities and cultures is essential for the development of innovative ideas. I am taking this key message from the regional BioCamp and I will share it with my colleagues at home.“

Winning Team representative Anja Mejač from Ljubljana University:
»We were connected as a team; we learned from each other, each of us brought to the table certain knowledge. Some of us shared scientific knowledge, while others contributed with their business knowledge. Having people with different knowledge background is an enormous advantage when creating ideas. When presenting an idea to potential investors, one should be convincing, trust their idea, and, of course, cooperation between members should have a solid foundation. I believe we succeeded and therefore we won.”