In Leading IMPACT’s Creating Foresight module, participants got the chance to work on forecasting and models for the future business landscape. Using a real-world case from SmiLe Incubator, the group delved into long-term trends that affect life science start-ups and strategies based on drivers for different customer segments.
The Leading IMPACT program consists of a total of 11 residential sessions of three days each over the course of 15 months. Each session has its own theme and a case owner, who presents a real-world case that the group will work on. At the Creating Foresight session, the participants worked on a case from SmiLe Incubator presented by Lina Boreson, participant and recipient of the Nästa Skånska Stjärna (Next Scanian Star) scholarship.
Hi, Lina. Tell us about Creating Foresight.
In short, the Creating Foresight module is about trying to understand the macro environment and how global trends and events can affect, directly or indirectly, a company and its operations. Using models and methods, we try to identify opportunities and risks to equip ourselves for the future.
You were the case owners – tell us about the case.
At SmiLe Incubator, we support life science start-ups with business development and commercialization, and we are part of an international ecosystem that aims to bring innovations to market. In our case, we wanted to explore which macro factors can affect organizations like ours and thereby SmiLe’s goal to become a leading incubator in Europe.
As a business, what value did you take away?
It’s a fantastic opportunity to get help from an entire group of experienced course participants who have insight into our business and our challenges and who are engaged. It’s easy to have blinders on, and I figured that we got roughly 80 hours of “management consulting” through the exercise! I’m extremely grateful that through this scholarship, EFL and Sparbanken Skåne have given both myself and SmiLe the opportunity to participate in the program, which we otherwise would never have had the chance to do.