The application period for Pre-SPARK Health Concept Discovery Program is once again open! This new edition in Spring 2026 places a special focus on Business Development capability, equipping participants with the essential skills needed to turn health and life science research ideas into viable, value-creating solutions.

In today’s global market, strong technology alone is no longer enough. To bring solutions to the market and ultimately to end users, you must understand how to build a compelling, value-creating business case. This course helps you take that first step by enabling you to:

• Understand the business landscape of the health and life science commercialization pathway, from unmet clinical needs, understanding the market and customer, to regulations and IP strategy.
• Learn about the practical frameworks and tools needed to build and support strong business cases
• Apply your learning to existing SPARK project cases. This is a unique opportunity to work directly with the project teams, strengthen real-life business cases, and contribute to meaningful impact through innovation development.

The program brings together a curated collection of learning materials, created with the support from top-tier lecturers and mentors from SPARK Finland network, to help new innovators navigate through the complex pathway of transforming research ideas into value-creating solutions on the market. This is paired with hands-on experience through collaborating with existing SPARKee projects, enabling participants to apply their learning and contribute directly with their fresh perspectives. 

The course is open to active members from University of Helsinki, Aalto University, and Helsinki University Hospital. Student participants may earn 5 study credits (ECTS) upon completion of the course.

More details, including program structure and application link, can be found on our webpage. For further inquiries, don’t hesitate to contact My Nguyen, our Pre-SPARK coordinator, my.nguyen@sparkfinland.fi.