Challenges in the Biotech Companies | Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology

Public selection notice

Within the Master's Degree Courses in "Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology" and "Quantitative and Computational Biology" of the Department of Computational and Integrative Cell Biology (DiCIBIO) at the University of Trento (hereinafter referred to as the "Course"), as part of the "Biotechnological Challenges" course, the University of Trento offers companies the opportunity to participate in the initiative "Challenges in the Biotech Companies" (hereinafter referred to as the "Initiative"). The Initiative aims to allow students to learn about technological challenges in the business world and apply their curriculum skills to solve these technological issues (hereinafter referred to as "Activities") that affect companies and organizations, following the principles of Challenge-Based Learning.

Art. 1 - Object of the notice

This Notice aims to identify issues related to processes, products, or services proposed by companies/organizations (hereinafter referred to as "Challenges") on which students of the Course will carry out analysis and design Activities. Specifically, for example, it includes challenges such as:

Innovation research or business issues proposed by companies regarding:
Drug development and discovery;
In vitro and in vivo models for target identification/validation, biomarkers;
Imaging technologies and/or Omics for biotechnological and/or biomedical applications.
The Activities include literature and bibliographic research, analysis of the company's business processes, discussions with the company, discussions with mentors, ideation of solutions, use of dedicated databases, prior art search, and development of experimental designs. The Activities will make use of the following technologies:
Genomic technologies and next-generation sequencing;
Mass spectrometry, proteomics, and protein characterization;
Advanced imaging;
Screening and high-throughput assays;
Animal models.

Art. 2 - Mode of operation

The Initiative involves groups of students (hereinafter referred to as "Teams") working in parallel within the Course to carry out the aforementioned Activities regarding the Challenges presented by selected companies. For each Challenge, there may be one or more dedicated Teams, which will work independently in carrying out the Activities and producing a brief final report containing information obtained from the activities and possible solutions for the assigned Challenge (hereinafter referred to as "Results"). The selection of students and the creation of Teams will be carried out by the Course coordinator or their delegate (hereinafter referred to as the "Coordinator"). The Initiative will be carried out according to the following schedule and modalities:

Course Start: Presentation (in-person or online) of the Challenge. Participating companies must be present with their technical staff to directly present the Challenge to the Teams.
During the Course: Students carry out the Activities, partly in-person and partly remotely, as defined by the Coordinator, in coordination with the companies. Companies are required to be available for interim meetings with the Team, in-person or remotely.
End of the Course: Deadline for Teams to deliver the Results to the companies, followed by evaluation.
End of the Course: Final day for companies to provide feedback within the Course activities. Awarding of the Team that has developed the most relevant Result by a committee appointed by the Coordinator.

The exact dates will be communicated at least one month before the start of the course.

Art. 3 - Application and submission procedure

Companies interested in participating in the Initiative must express their interest by completing the form available at the following google form.
Submitting this application is equivalent to accepting the terms and conditions expressed in this Notice.
The University of Trento reserves the right to modify, suspend, extend, or revoke this procedure at any time, at its sole discretion, if deemed necessary or appropriate.
Companies will remain in the University's database for five years.
For the academic year 2023/24, the deadline for submitting expressions of interest is June 30, 2023. For subsequent years, companies that have expressed their interest will be contacted six months in advance by the course coordinator to evaluate the update of the Challenge project submitted and the interest in participating in the initiative for the relevant academic year.

Art. 4 - Evaluation and preselection of participation requests

Each year, a commission composed of the Coordinator and two members of DiCIBIO will evaluate the suitability of the Challenges received through the expressions of interest. The commission will be appointed by the Department Director.
The following criteria will be used to assess the eligibility of the applications:

Feasibility of applying the Activities to the proposed Challenge.
Expected impact on the company (in terms of business and innovation) of applying the Activities to the proposed Challenge.
Expected impact on the students' learning experience of applying the Activities to the proposed Challenge.
Innovativeness of the proposed Challenge.
Presence and clarity of motivations and expectations for innovation that drive the company to apply for the Initiative.

The results of the commission's evaluation will be published on the DiCIBIO website, and this publication will serve as communication to the companies that expressed their interest. The Coordinator may also communicate the results via email. Selected companies must confirm their interest in participating in the Initiative to the Coordinator within 5 days.
Participation in the Initiative is free of charge for the companies.

Art. 5 - Student involvement and start of activities

Participation in the Initiative is mandatory for students enrolled in the "Biotechnological Challenges" course, and the composition of student teams associated with each Challenge will be the sole responsibility of the Coordinator, with possible support from the evaluation commission.
The Coordinator will propose the selected Challenges to the students of the Course, who will indicate their interest in being involved in one or more selected Challenges.

Art. 6 - Trademarks

At the end of the process, the references of the selected Challenges and the respective companies will be published on the Initiative's webpage. Therefore, participation in the Initiative implies granting the University of Trento a free and non-exclusive license to use the company's trademark solely for the promotion of the Initiative.
The University of Trento has the right to use the trademarks of participating companies on its website, as well as in relation to any product, service, event, or promotional material aimed at promoting the Initiative.
The University of Trento acknowledges and accepts that the trademarks of participating companies are the exclusive property of those companies, and no provision of this Notice is intended to confer any rights to those trademarks, other than what is provided in the previous paragraph.
Therefore, the University of Trento cannot assign, sublicense, or otherwise dispose of the trademarks of participating companies without their written consent.
The trademarks should be sent to the following email: cibio [at] unitn.it.

Art. 7 - Confidentiality of information provided by companies and organizations

In order to facilitate the execution of the Initiative, the University of Trento reserves the right to publish the following data and information provided by the companies during the application phase: company name, website URL, industry sector, brief description of the company's business activity, and the name and brief description of the Challenge.
If requested by the company, it may require participating students and the Coordinator to sign a confidentiality agreement (NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement) with a maximum duration of two years, prepared by the University of Trento.
In any case, the Results of the Initiative will be considered public and will be presented at the end of the Course to all students and potentially external participants (other professors, researchers, external audience).

Art. 8 - Intellectual property

Intellectual property rights over the Results will belong to those who contribute to producing them (students, the University, and potentially companies/organizations, proportionally).
If a company wishes to acquire ownership of the Results, it must reach an agreement with the students and the University during or at the end of the initiative, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Art. 9 - Treatment of personal data

In accordance with Article 13 of the GDPR 2016/679, it is informed that all data obtained by the University of Trento in the performance of the procedure outlined in this Notice will be used exclusively for the purposes specified therein and will be processed with the aid of information systems in full compliance with the aforementioned regulations. The data will not be communicated or disclosed to third parties. The Data Controller is the University of Trento, via Calepina n. 14, 38122 Trento (TN);
email: ateneo [at] pec.unitn.it; ateneo [at] unitn.it. The Data Protection Officer (DPO) to whom to address for information regarding personal data can be contacted at the following email address: rpd [at] unitn.it. At any time, the data subjects may exercise their rights as provided for in Articles 15 et seq. of the GDPR, using the appropriate form found on the "Privacy and Personal Data Protection" page of the University portal and sending it to the Data Controller at the aforementioned contacts. For the full privacy policy, please refer to data protection page.

Art. 10 - Authorization to publish one's image

Participating companies make efforts to obtain any necessary authorizations from the individuals representing and attending the Initiative, so that the University of Trento can publish their image through any form of media (print, websites, etc.) solely for the purpose of promoting and advertising the Initiative. The University of Trento undertakes not to use any image in a way that could harm or prejudice personal dignity or for purposes other than those indicated above and/or contrary to legal provisions.

How to apply

Companies interested in participating in the Initiative must express their interest by filling out the form available at the following google form.

For more informatio visit the dedicated page.