CICA Lab Incubator Program

Become a healthcare innovator in 12 weeks.

Accelerate your business or launch your career in healthcare innovation.

  • 12-week, part-time online program
  • 3 in-person workshops Melbourne
  • Unrivaled coaching & mentoring

September - October 2025
$3,500 incl. GST

Victorian-based clinicians are eligible for significant sponsorship. Click here to request a sponsored spot (spaces are limited).

Entries close Sept 2025.

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Richard Macliver
CICA Lab Lead

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Incubator Program overview.

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Phase 1: Identifying valuable problems
1. Workshop: Getting started

Meet your cohort at our first in-person workshop.

  • Delve into the mindset and intent of clinician innovators
  • Discover where customers and value lies in the Australian health system
  • Learn the principles of design thinking
2. Webinar: Meet the innovators

  • Find out what it means to be a clinical entrepreneur or innovator
  • Hear from chief medical officers, start-up CEOs, corporate executives and more
  • Get inspired by the creative opportunities out there
3. Webinar: How they did it

  • Learn first hand from established clinical innovators
  • Hear about the transition from clinician to entrepreneur
  • Get practical tips for the journey ahead
4. Webinar: Finding the right problems

  • Identify whether your idea is something customers will pay for
  • Learn how to ask the right questions
  • Validate the desirability of your business or innovation
5. Webinar: Stakeholder discovery

  • Find out who the major decision-makers in the healthcare system are
  • Go into what decision-makers really care about
  • Learn how to identify your target customer
2
Phase 2: Building innovative solutions
6. Workshop: Building the thing right

You have a valuable problem, now it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty.

  • Learn about prototyping and agile principles in healthcare
  • How to run customer and user experiments
  • Understanding intellectual property regulations
7. Webinar: Digital health solutions

  • Uncover strategies for developing impactful digital health solutions
  • Gain insights from industry experts on navigating regulatory considerations
  • Elevate your understanding of building user-friendly digital health solutions
8. Webinar: Medical device development

  • Explore the intricacies of the development process
  • Navigate regulatory complexities for compliant medical devices
  • Streamline your innovation journey with successful strategies
9. Webinar: Healthcare service innovations

  • Delve into the nuances of innovative healthcare services
  • Gain valuable insights into processes, user-centric design and business models
  • Equip yourself with tools to revolutions healthcare services
10. Webinar: Navigating complex organisations

  • An inside look on how to play the game and win
  • Demystifying how large organisations innovate from within
  • Learn how to translate your innovation into patient impact
3
Phase 3: Funding your innovation
11. Workshop: How to get funded

Getting your idea off the ground and in front of the right people.

  • Masterclass on how to position yourself to get funding
  • Learn about business models and incentive structures
  • Assess the landscape in Australia and globally
12. Webinar: Government grants & internal funds

  • Tips for accessing the funding pool
  • Where to look, who to partner with and how to communicate
  • Hear from those responsible for innovative grants and start-ups who have won them
13. Webinar: Venture capital & angel investment

  • Delve into the art of securing funding
  • Gain valuable insights, tips and strategies
  • Learn from active healthcare investors in Australia
14. Webinar: Distribution & marketing

  • Learn the fundamentals
  • Discover how to work effectively with third parties
  • Build on your foundation knowledge to do it yourself
15. Webinar: The importance of storytelling

  • Discover the impact of clear communication
  • Find how to say what you want, to get what you want
  • Learn how to communicate your innovation so the audience understands

Meet the CICA Lab team.

Dr. Amandeep Hansra
Founder of Medical Angels, Creative Careers in Medicine
Dr. Mian Bi
Co-founder of Medical Angels & Investing for Doctors
Richard Macliver
Program Lead for the Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program & Investment Manager at Medical Angels
Dr. Louise Schaper
Board Member of Evidentli, Asthma Australia & Comperio Owner & Director
Dr. Sarah Newby
Medical Doctor, AUSCEP Community Manager & Medical Angels Operations Lead
Dr. Roy Mariathas
Founder of Reggie Health, RACGP Tech Committee & Family Physician
Dr. Amandeep Hansra
Founder of Medical Angels, Creative Careers in Medicine
Dr. Mian Bi
Co-founder of Medical Angels & Investing for Doctors
Richard Macliver
Program Lead for the Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program & Investment Manager at Medical Angels
Dr. Louise Schaper
Board Member of Evidentli, Asthma Australia & Comperio Owner & Director
Dr. Sarah Newby
Medical Doctor, AUSCEP Community Manager & Medical Angels Operations Lead
Dr. Roy Mariathas
Founder of Reggie Health, RACGP Tech Committee & Family Physician

Join the fast track to clinical innovation.

Sign up

Frequently asked questions.

Who is the program for?

We welcome all clinicians with a passion for healthcare innovation! That includes doctors, nurses, allied health professions and students.

Ideal participants are eager to break boundaries and bring fresh perspectives to the healthcare industry.

Do I need an idea to apply?

No, you don’t need to have a fully formed idea, simply bring your excitement to innovate. We’ll help with the rest.

What are the program locations?

Most of the course is online, with three in-person workshops held in both Sydney and Melbourne.

How much does it cost?

The total cost is $3,500AUD incl. GST (participants based outside of Victoria).

For Victorian-based consultant doctors the price is $1,000.

For all other Victorian-based clinicians (i.e. registrars, allied health, nursing etc.) the price is $500.

There are flexible financing options available. Contact us to find out more.

Are there financing options available?

Yes! We offer payment plan options if you’d prefer to pay in instalments.

Contact us to find out more.

What’s the time commitment involved?

There’s a total program time of 53 hours, equivalent to 7 days over the three month course period.

However, it may be more or less depending on how many opportunities you take. Aside from the in-person workshops, the course is online with plenty of self directed or optional work.

The online webinars will be recorded, however to get the most value from the program, we recommend taking all the masterclasses and joining the webinars in real time.

When does it start?

Cohort 3 commences 3rd March 2025.

The first in-person workshop will occur on 4th March in Melbourne.

All in-person workshops occur in Melbourne CBD.

When do the sessions run?

In-person workshops will be held on weekdays, running from 10am-5pm. They will be spaced roughly four weeks apart.

Online sessions and webinars will primarily be in the evening, however every effort will be made to accommodate participant preferences.

Dr. Jason Lam
General Practitioner
Cohort 2

"CICA Lab was an amazing experience, met some great people, learned so much and looking forward to putting it into action."

Dr. Sanya Vallath
ICU Registrar
Cohort 1

"I loved it. I think the best part is that I've got a supportive network of people that I can contact. As doctors, we tend to develop tunnel vision, and really need to step out of our comfort zone to see things differently. Overall I got way more out of it than I imagined. I'm really thrilled."

Annie Chapman
ICU Nurse
Cohort 1

"Overall, CICA has been an incredible experience that is dedicated to innovation and excellence. I am unbelievably grateful for their ongoing support."

Dr. Jaspreet Saini
General Practitioner
Cohort 1

"CICA has opened up a whole new world for me. Being empowered with the tools, resources and frameworks to do this work effectively is just so important. I really do think that all clinicians that are serious about bringing about positive change for our patients, communities and health care system should participate in the CICA program."

Jacqueline Plozza
Dietician
Cohort 2

"As a clinician who wants to create large-scale change in the health care system, there was so much knowledge and practical information shared in each session. Having delivered and attended other programs that have an online component, I was impressed with the level of enagement, and loved the in-person sessions. I would (and am) highly recommend the program to other clinicians."