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The Integrated Skills Development Programme (ISDP)

The Integrated Skills Development Programme is the learning strategy adopted as part of the challenge to achieve optimal outcomes. It is based on international best practice by integrating different pedagogical instrument for optimal outcomes, namely:

Project Activity

Project activity by the students to focus on a real-life medical device challenge as core context. Every student, from each university, is working on a medical device project as part of their academic studies. After each student has progressed significantly in their projects they will be completing an abstract submission which will document each of the student’s work and be consolidated into UCT’s digital open access library. A Digital Object Index (DOI) will be assigned to each student’s submission.

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Development of Skills

Focused skills development through three courses, which support vital industrialisation competencies currently not forming part of the curriculum. The three courses that the students have participated in are:

Medical Device Sector Essentials (MDSE)

Understanding the production and commercialisation of a medical device, the working of critical standards such as ISO 13485, ISO 27001 and ISO 62366, regulatory compliance and usability engineering and testing

Tooling, Manufacturing and Industrialisation (TMI)

Understanding the progressive development and transformation of manufacturing a tool to industrialised competence, applying the industrialisation anatomy considering of the implications of the 4th industrial revolution, tooling design, life-cycle optimisation, service integration and supply chains.

Introduction to Systems Engineering and Product Lifecycle Management (SEPLM)

Basic understanding of key systems engineering and product life cycle processes and activities performed during the design, development, industrialisation, and production phases

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Definition of user’s needs

Placing oneself in the shoes of others by defining needs from the perspective of the customers. The students are required to complete the Lion’s Den Project Proposal document which will be the primary input to determine the participants who will be selected to present at the MediVentor’s Lion’s Den Challenge. This document will be marked by a MediVentor selection committee. The purpose of this document is to approach the project work from a customer / patient perspective and train students in convincing other parties to back their industrialisation efforts.

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Participation in MediVentors Lion’s Den Conference

Participation in a simulated real-world competition (“MediVentors Lion’s Den Conference”) to develop skills in promoting and communicating one’s solution to garner support or funding for realisation. The goal of the conference is to simulate a real-life challenge of any innovator, namely, to convince other parties to support their industrialisation proposal and provide funding. The conference will also detail the courses that the students participated in and how they applied their skills to their individual projects. Finalists would be selected prior to the conference who submitted the best project proposal. These finalists would present their solution to garner support or funding for realization to a panel of judges.

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