Perth Biodesign Course

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Training the next generation of biomedical entrepreneurs in Perth, Western Australia

Perth Biodesign for Medtech

Frequently Asked Questions

Creating the future of Australian Healthcare

Time in the 6 month, part-time Medtech course will provide you with:

How It Works

Perth Biodesign for Medtech is a 6 month, part-time course running annually, in which multidisciplinary teams identify unmet clinical needs and work towards inventing a medical technology solution, whilst learning about the medical device development process.

Teams come together once a week, usually on a Wednesday evening, to learn, and put into practice, the course content delivered by course faculty and top local experts. Throughout the course, teams will have regular deliverables that will require further work outside of the weekly meetings, either online or at in-person team meetings. Previous participants estimate the workload of the course at around 8 hours per week.

What you will learn

Identifying a clinical unmet need

Validating a clinical unmet need

Market and Stakeholder analysis

Brainstorming for solutions

Understanding intellectual property protection

Proof of concept prototyping

Regulatory and reimbursement pathways

Business models in medtech

Business strategy

Dilutive and non-dilutive funding sources

And more!

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Who Should Apply?

The typical structure of a Perth Biodesign team includes passionate individuals with a clinical, engineering, business and/or research background. Our participants range from senior students to experienced professionals, however we encourage anyone with a strong passion for medtech and healthcare innovation to make an enquiry.

Previous participants of the course have included business consultants, hospital heads of department, 2nd year undergraduate students, physiotherapists and PhD students. You can view our full alumni list here.

Our Team

Dr Matthew Oldakowski

Course Director

Matt is a biomedical engineering researcher, inventor and entrepreneur. Matt is the co-founder and CTO of two medtech companies, REX Ortho and Cervical ChinUp. Matt is the Co-Director of Perth Biodesign where he educates and incubates multidisciplinary medtech innovation teams and also the Co-Director of Biodesign Australia that brings together Biodesign programs from around Australia to share resources and best practice. Matt was previously a Global Fellow at Stanford Biodesign and an Endeavour Executive Fellow.

Intan Oldakowska

Course Director

Intan is a biomedical engineer and entrepreneur focused on developing medical devices. A graduate of the University of Western Australia in Mechanical Engineering and Commerce, she is a Research Associate at Curtin University where her PhD studies have focused on developing a novel expandable orthopaedic screw, which has spun-out into REX Ortho. She is also the co-founder and CEO of Cervical ChinUp. A SPARK Co-Lab Design Course 2016 alumnus, Intan recently returned from Stanford University, where she helped at the Otoinnovation Lab and observed the Stanford Biodesign Innovation classes, before returning to be Perth Biodesign's co-Course Director.

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Kristen Houston

Program Manager

Kristen is the Operations Manager of Accelerating Australia and Program Manager of Perth Biodesign. Having coordinated the Perth Biodesign course since 2017, Kristen has extensive experience working with early stage startups.

With a BSc in Pharmacology and several years' experience working in technology commercialisation and innovation, Kristen is a firm believer that having a strong business model is just as, if not more, important as having a great technology when it comes to having an impact on patient care.

"The supportive, creating and proactive individuals I have met has been without a doubt my favourite takeaway. I think coming from a non-clinical background, insight into the challenges faced by the individuals in the sector - and the creativity with which they and others have met these challenges with product development - has been nothing short of profound."

- Perth Biodesign for Medtech 2019 graduate

"The Biodesign course is a great avenue for anyone who has a deep desire to improve health care on a global scale. The extensive breadth of knowledge and expertise covered within the course is mind-blowing and incredibly humbling. From the course directors, organisers, committee members, mentors and weekly invited guest speakers, all of whom take time out of their busy schedules to share their experiences and knowledge. I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to learn from these various experts in their fields.'

- Daphne Lakhiani, Perth Biodesign for Medtech 2018 graduate

Our Supporters

The New Industries Fund is managed by the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation