Entrepreneurship and Idea Development

Aim

The purpose of the course is for students to develop knowledge and abilities within the field of entrepreneurship and innovation within early stages of development. Focus is put upon formylation and development of entrepreneurial and innovative ideas and includes some ability to make judgements on potential for commercialisation.

The learning outcomes are that students should:

• be able to understand and define the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship in general as well as in the context of their own area of technology and knowledge
• have basic knowledge on theories and tools for idea development and, on a general level, know what is included in a business development process and of what commonly is included in a business plan
• be able to give an account of the information and analyses required to verify an idea and have ability to judge the commercial potential of an hypothesised innovative/entrepreneurial venture
• have ability to communicate a business idea proposal orally and in writing.

Content

The course contains three themes:

• Entrepreneurship and innovation – Students are faced with different perspectives on entrepreneurship and innovation. We ask ourselves what an entrepreneurial versus innovative venture is or might be and in what contexts it can appear.
• Idea development – the process to develop an idea into a business model. Focus is put on how to formulate and develop an idea that can become foundation for a new venture or the development of an idea that could strengthen an existing firm, how an idea could be protected and how it could gain instep on a market, what prerequisites is needed for a venture to become viable and how it could be financed.
• Business planning and communication – Here it is about being able to, in written and oral forms, describe and communicate the idea by use of relevant models of analysis.