Syllabus 2010/2011 FAFF05

Syllabus academic year 2010/2011
(Created 2010-07-25.)

PROJECT ENGINEERING AT THE NANOSCALE

FAFF05

Credits: 15. Grading scale: UG. Cycle: G2 (First Cycle). Main field: Technology. Language of instruction: The course will be given in Swedish. Compulsory for: N3. Course coordinator: Dr. Magnus Borgström, magnus.borgstrom@ftf.lth.se, Department of Physics. Recommended prerequisits: Compulsory courses of the first two years of the programme Engineering Nanoscience. Assessment: The examination is based on two written and one oral presentation of two projects. Further information: Project 1 is conducted by typically three students working together. Project 2 is carried out in larger groups. Note that Project 2 may be handled with secrecy agreements if needed and agreed on. Home page: http://www-gu.ftf.lth.se/.

Aim
The prime aim of the course is to gain knowledge regarding the development of commercial products and processes. The students will learn how to find information in patent databases, and gain knowledge regarding how patents are written and evaluated. The students will use their engineering skills in order to create a prototype of an instrument/device related to nanoscience.

Knowledge and understanding
For a passing grade the student must

understand and have knowledge about the art of developing new commercial products and processes
have fundamental knowledge about how to start-up a company.

Skills and abilities
For a passing grade the student must

be able to:

find information in both patent and literature databases
analyze the content of patents and compare it with the content of related scientific articles
understand the basics in patent writing and the requirement for getting a patent accepted
create a project plan, and work project related in a group.

Judgement and approach
For a passing grade the student must

have gained knowledge about entrepreneurial activities and an understanding about various aspects of relevance for engineers when active in industry or academia.

Contents
The student will evaluate the possibilities and various aspects of commercializing an idea/innovation. The lectures illustrate different issues related to starting up a company, innovation processes, patent issues, and financing. Two different projects carried out during the course will result in written reports. The second project will be presented orally at a symposium.

Project 1 results in a written report of an analysis of an innovation picked up from running research activities or from a recently published scientific article. The relation between the innovation and three to four related patents is analyzed, as well as the differences between the patents and the scientific article.

Project 2 is a group work where the students will make use of their engineering skills in order to produce a nano/micro based prototype of an instrument or device. In project 2 the students will also enter more deeply into one of the tre following subtopics: 1) to write a patent, 2) to make a businessplan, 3) to perform a market analysis.

Literature
Relevant material will be distributed at beginning of the course.