(375f) Use of Business Model Canvas in Bioprocesses Engineering Education at Undergraduation Level: Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Increasing Motivation

In the university environment, entrepreneurial practices and motivational stimuli can be efficiently interconnected, further enticing students to achieve success in performing their activities. With the purpose to consolidate contents of the area of bioprocessing, to promote the training of students in entrepreneurship, as well as with the perspective of increasing the motivation of students within the classroom, it was applied, in a compulsory topic of the chemical engineering course of the University of Campinas, in Brazil, an evaluation activity based on the development of a business model canvas. The focus was on the industrial production of a product based on a bioprocess defined by the students. This topic focuses on the concepts of enzyme kinetics, kinetics of cell growth, substrate consumption and product formation, design of bioreactors for operation in batch, fed batch, continuous and perfusion modes, mass and momentum transfer effects in bioprocesses, and downstream processing.

The proposal to create the business model canvas was carried out by students from 6 classes of different semesters divided into teams. Each team focused on the traditional topics of the business model canvas for each type of product, from product design, biocatalyst-mediated transformation to final product purification. Thus, in addition to the technical aspects inherent to each process, value propositions, key partners, key activities, key resources, costumer segments, costumer relationships, distribution channels, cost structure and revenue streams were presented for each case.

In all classes, the presentation of the results of the work occurred in stages, at least two of which were in the form of seminars given to the rest of the class. The first step was always the presentation of the company, the product or service selected and the reasons for this choice, lasting 5 minutes. The intermediate stages involved in-depth discussion of the results directly with those responsible for the discipline, and at the end of the academic semester the consolidated results of each team were presented orally not only to the instructors and the rest of the class but also to a panel of external evaluators, who played the role of investors who compared the different investment proposals in a comparative manner.

The evaluation criteria were based on the following aspects: a) relevance of the chosen product; b) content, depth and relation of the subject with the main objective of course; c) technical approach adopted for the development of each stage of the production process; d) financial, market and economic aspects; e) development of the business model canvas; f) organization and integration among team members; g) duration of the seminars, based on pre-established periods; h) visual resources used in the presentation; i) team commitment to written and oral communication; j) analysis of the performance of the teams.

Very positive aspects about the proposed activity were identified. Initially, the selection of the product of interest notably generated enthusiastic discussions in the students, as it allowed them to actively choose, in a free way, a product whose production they could undertake in the future. In many cases, there was also a need for field research on the requirements of the product to meet the demand and also its applicability. Students were encouraged not only to seek information about the characteristics of production processes, but also to find kinetic parameters and to define appropriate operating conditions to meet the proposed goals, as well as having to learning contents associated with the opening of a business. Some examples of processes and products covered include: production of hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, butanol, craft beer, gluten-free beer, wound dressings containing papain, hydrolyzed Aloe vera extract for the cosmetic area, sodium gluconate obtained from figs, insulin, lactase, lactose-free milk, lipase for cleaning purposes, mini-proinsulin, probiotic cheese, keratinase for the lysis of chicken feathers usable in animal feed formulation, vanillin, wine with reduced alcohol content, xylitol, high fructose syrup, biogas, yogurt made from just two ingredients, kefir, biosurfactant and biodiesel, among others.

In conclusion, this activity not only played an important role in the consolidation of knowledge in the bioprocesses area, but also contributed to the formation of entrepreneurs, dynamic and communicative professionals, offering them better preparation to face the competitive job market.

Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the support from FAPESP-Brazil, CAPES-Brazil and CNPq-Brazil.