Investing in our people University of Medicine Excellence

As of mid-November 2022, almost one thousand of our employees have completed a Boehringer Ingelheim certificate program developed together with Harvard Medical School Executive Education. They are the first wave of participants in our University of Medicine Excellence who have completed the inaugural Accelerate program, a non-degree granting program.

The University of Medicine Excellence (UME) began as a concept in the fall of 2020 with one aim: to bring innovative treatments to patients faster than ever. And the UME team believes that it starts by investing in our people. That is why the curricula, designed with and delivered by Harvard Medical School (HMS) Executive Education, combine cutting-edge clinical development research and training, culturally transformative information technology, and leadership coaching.

For Guido Scholze, Head of UME and part of the team from the beginning, finding the right educational institution to design and deliver the learning program in a way that suited our needs was crucial. “We want to transform patient-focused innovations into life-changing solutions, so we needed to ensure our delivery matched that ambition,” he says. HMS, then, was an obvious choice. He adds: “They have shaped the design of medical school education throughout the world while preparing generations of physicians for leadership roles. And that aligns well with our goal – to transform lives for generations to come.”

Bringing it to life

"Regardless of the topic discussed, whether it was digital analytics or real-world evidence, the patient was always at the heart of it. The course even gave us a long journey of what the patient goes through, and that’s still stuck in my mind." Quote from Marjan Maghami, Medical Director Emerging Markets, Accelerate learner

Since its launch in October 2021, six cohorts of students have completed Accelerate, the first of two rigorous programs. Despite the restriction the pandemic brought, nearly one thousand learners all over the world took part in the live lectures conducted online by Harvard faculty.

“We want to ensure that our colleagues don’t just gain theoretical knowledge, but a practical understanding of this complex and changing landscape,” says Guido. Together with HMS, the UME team narrowed down the topics, including holistic evidence strategy development, digital applications for digital insights, and leadership behaviors to drive transformation effectively. What resulted is a 3-month certificate program formalized across 40 hours of live sessions.

"I saw UME as an opportunity to improve myself and to do something very different and apply it to our day-to-day business. We met a lot of great minds and heard from so many different perspectives than we normally would." Quote from Dejan Radonjic, Senior Clinical Program Leader, AccelerateEX learner

Then comes AccelerateEX, a practical follow-up to Accelerate. As part of the syllabus, groups of 20 to 25 colleagues travel to the HMS campus to meet with patients who share more of their journey – a particular moment that sticks with many learners. For Madhuri Jerfy, this re-emphasized her purpose: “It was really impactful to hear how long the patient journey can be from a patient herself. And it reminded me that this is why I do what I do.”