Online Courses

InBIA’s online training courses offer you the ultimate flexibility to fit professional development into your busy life. Complete the courses you find most useful from the comfort of your own office or home.

2019 Course Dates & Descriptions

We currently offer the following courses online, and we are continuously adding to this list by generating new content and formatting existing courses to be taken online. Check back often to see the latest online course offerings.

Specialty Courses

In Spring 2017, InBIA added specialty courses to the online learning catalog, allowing learners to continue their education in the ever-changing field of business incubation based on the convenience of personal schedules.

These courses are designed with the learner in mind, understanding that furthering knowledge is valuable but not always obtainable due to time constraints and commitments. Each course offered will be online self-paced, allowing you to progress at your own schedule and take the course anytime that is convenient for you. Like an in-person course, the online courses challenge and equip you with the knowledge you need to propel your career and add value for your clients. When you sign up for online self-paced education, you gain access to the knowledge of experienced instructors through written materials, industry-specific curated videos and case studies. For each course you enroll, you will be given 30 days of access to course materials and an end-of-course (EOC) exam. By passing the EOC exam, you will be given a certificate of completion through our online certificate management system, Accredible.

Available Spring 2017

Operational Best Practices for Successful Biotechnology Incubators

This course provides insight into the field of biotechnology incubator facilities and information regarding the importance of these programs. Incubators that support biotech startups have very specific needs and requirements. Examining ways to ensure that a variety of services are provided which go above and beyond those of a typical incubation program, the information provided within this course includes the types of business models of biotech incubators, focusing on their impact within the ecosystem, how to ensure sustainability, and the best client and facility based operational methods to ensure incubator success. Other key takeaways from this course are:

  • Effective ways to ensure client expectations coincide with incubator provisions
  • Best practices for ensuring facility resources meet efficacy standards
  • Determining factors such as location, which will have an impact on the success of a facility
  • Operational factors which will ensure sustainability and cost effectiveness
  • How to determine what compliance and/or government approvals are needed
  • Habits to ensure that processes operate to benefit clients as well as the facilities needs
  • Best practices to follow when faced with special circumstances such as sharing facilities
  • Importance of safety and compliance within a facility and how to ensure rules and regulations are followed by staff and clients

 

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Building Sustainable Food Incubators and Accelerators

This course provides best practices and effective strategies for designing and managing a food or agricultural science program. Topics will include safety and regulatory compliancy, design of commercial kitchens/food production space, maximizing revenues and critical services to:

  • Recognize current trends and opportunities in the food business industry
  • Identify best practices in business incubation and acceleration
  • Analyze and evaluate implemented business incubation and acceleration models
  • Identify effective strategies to meet facility design standards
  • Identify strategies to increase self-sustainability

 

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Available Fall 2017

Rural Incubation Success Strategies

  • This course incorporates strategies that have been proven successful in programs across the globe, providing a blueprint for establishing sustainable entrepreneurship programs in rural areas. Topics will include how to implement virtual support services, what revenue models work best and targeted marketing approaches to drive community support.

Funding and Operating Successful University Entrepreneurship Centers

  • This course will provide the knowledge and tools to create a robust and successful entrepreneurial ecosystem within a university environment. Topics will include appropriate tech transfer models, best practices in migrating research from the lab bench to the market, and leveraging regional resources to support university startups.

Business Incubation Management (BIM) Certificate Program 

Specific dates for each BIM Certificate Program course are listed below. Each course includes an online exam, which must be completed to receive credit for the course. Click here for more information about the BIM Certificate Program, including a description of the online format and explanation of the exam.

Course 1: Establishing Successful Entrepreneurship Programs

  • Course description: The first course in the BIM program provides foundational concepts and methodologies for establishing and maintaining a successful entrepreneurship program in a variety of markets. Within the course, participants will learn about trending industry models for developing a strong, market-driven value proposition, mission and goals. The course has a special focus on identifying the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the components that drive a sustainable market. Participants will also learn about company application and selection processes and how to align organizational mission statements and community interests.

Course 2: Guiding Companies: Leveraging Resources and Strategies

  • Course description: The second course in the BIM program explains how to implement industry best practices to ensure an entrepreneurship program is providing high-impact programs and services. The course focuses on company selection and retention, development and deployment of relevant services and programs, and how to establish effective resource and mentor networks. Program managers will be able to show stakeholders and potential clients the connection between the services they offer and the value they provide to startup organizations. They will also learn how to properly allocate resources across programs to aid companies in various stages.

Course 3: Finance and Operations for Sustainable Entrepreneurship Programs

  • Course description: The third course in the BIM program explains how to develop sustainable financial models in different types of entrepreneurship programs, including incubators, coworking spaces and accelerators. Participants will learn about the operational fundamentals (e.g., policies and procedures) that aid in developing sustainable financial models. Other topics include financial forecasting and cash management, new program capital needs, implementation of diversified revenue streams, managing operational expenses, and banking needs. Participants will also find out how to diversify courses of funding and revenue based on program type and nature of the community engagement.

Course 4: Design and Management of Facilities that Serve Entrepreneurs

  • The fourth course in the BIM programs explains how to select, manage and maximize the facilities in which entrepreneurship programs reside. Topics will include best practices for site selection, necessary facility specifications, operational agreements, furniture/fixture/equipment (FF&E) budgeting, maintenance, and service contracting. The course will also provide tips on how space design and layout can maximize program revenues and how building systems can save energy. Participants will be able to outline standard maintenance and operations procedures, outsourcing, contracts and practices for a multi-company facility.

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BIM Online Course Format

Online BIM certificate courses take two weeks to completeten days for instruction and learning, followed by a four-day testing window.

Each course is equivalent to seven hours of in-class training and contains the same content as the classroom-based courses, but has been specially designed for the online format. The courses are self-guided, though they include two one-hour webinars and one office hour session with experienced instructors who will answer questions and enhance the online content with practical examples and personal knowledge. These online sessions will be recorded and made available to all participants.

At the end of the course, participants will have four days to demonstrate their knowledge by answering 40-50 questions in a 90-minute period. External resources are allowed within the testing time limit. Participants must earn a 75% or higher score to pass the course.

Participants are not required to take all four courses at one time; however, all four courses should be completed within a 1-year (12-month) window.

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