From Lab to Launch: Fostering Entrepreneurship at IECON 2025
By Bruno Iafelice, PhD – TVLP Institute, USA
At the IECON 2025 conference in Madrid, the “From Idea to Venture” workshop equipped scientists, engineers, and industry professionals with practical tools and new venture creation insights to transform innovation into real-world impact. Held on 14 October 2025, the session was jointly sponsored by the IES Member Activities, Industry Activities, and TC05-EEIT (Education) committees.
Turning Innovation into Impact
In today’s fast-evolving technological landscape, the ability to commercialize innovation is as essential as creating it. Career development is no longer linear but rather a continuous cycle of learning new skills and adapting to change through job transitions, new roles, or even international moves. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid rise of AI have accelerated the demand for transferable skills such as problem-solving, agile and lean project development, communication, time management, and strategic planning.
Entrepreneurship integrates all these capabilities, making the workshop equally valuable for “intrapreneurs” — technology leaders seeking to advance their careers in industry or academia. The workshop offered practical frameworks, drawn from successful Silicon Valley practices, covering entrepreneurial mindset, idea validation, business model design, and effective communication. Participants explored what it means to be a scientist-entrepreneur, learned how to identify and validate ideas, and practiced presenting concepts clearly to open networking and funding opportunities.
Insights from Startup Experiences
The initiative was conceived and developed by Bruno Iafelice (CEO, TVLP Institute) with the collaboration of Mike Kyriacou (Founder & Chairman, Kopernicus AI), bringing together IES volunteers with extensive experience in creating and scaling multiple ventures and securing funding. It featured guest speaker Rafael González del Castillo Sancho (Founder, Editeca), an entrepreneur who shared a successful case of a new venture emerging from Madrid’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The workshop enriched its content through discussions grounded in real startup experiences, including Clinic.AI, a health sensor and AI technology startup advised by Michael Condry, an IES veteran. Contributions from Darryl Palmer, founder of Janus Choice, together with insights shared by other IES participants, further deepened the dialogue, illustrating the challenges of scaling technology-driven ventures and the valuable lessons learned along the way, inspiring around 40 attendees.
Building an Entrepreneurial IES Community
The workshop concluded with an Entrepreneurship Networking Hour, an informal session at a nearby bar & grill that fostered continued conversation and collaboration among IES scientist-entrepreneurs. Attendees left equipped with practical tools, an expanded network, and a stronger understanding of how entrepreneurial thinking can accelerate innovation, both in startups and within established organizations.
By blending engineering rigor with entrepreneurial creativity, the workshop showcased how IEEE IES empowers professionals to turn research into real-world impact. It also continued the series of entrepreneurial initiatives during IES conferences started a few weeks earlier at EFTA 2025.
If you’re interested in learning more or sharing your thoughts and suggestions, feel free to connect with Bruno Iafelice on LinkedIn.