Acceleration of entrepreneurship and innovation – A course for students

Objectives:

• Identify entrepreneurial and innovative business opportunities;
• Acquire tools and skills to accelerate the development of entrepreneurial and innovative business ideas into viable business propositions;
• Knowledge about implementation of strategies to protect intellectual property associated with their business ideas;
• Effective communication of their ideas/products/solutions – pitch communication;
• Transitioning from research to business.

Actions taken:

The team developed the structure of the course in the scope of EcoAction, and then submitted for the accreditation of ECTS. After approval, the course is in permanent opening. A session of the course starts once there are 20 students registered. The 3rd edition is currently being prepared.

How it was implemented:

• The project of the course was designed to help students, professors, or researchers to further take their research onto innovation. In this sense, the submission of the course always took into consideration to give a greater knowledge and insight of what it takes to better develop an idea onto an entrepreneurial venue. Every students that complete the course will be granted with 1 ECTS.
• To implement changes during the course, the feedback that is gathered from students’ reviews or suggestions will always be taken into consideration to better improve the modules. If during the modules it is noted that there is some information that is lacking, or even that the duration of each module is not adequate/appropriate, its shift is proposed to all students. Those changes shall also be applied to further editions.

• The course consists in 24h of contact and 6h of tutorial sessions and has the following 6 modules: Module 1 – Design Thinking Creative problem-solving; user-centered design; prototype and test Module 2 – Industrial Property Understanding of intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights); legal aspects of protecting innovations; strategies for protecting business ideas Module 3 – Market analysis & Triple Layer Business Model How to make a market analysis; how to analyze competition; how to develop a marketing plan; development of a persona canvas; development of a competitive advantage matrix; business model development; market analysis and identifications of opportunities; revenue model design; risk assessment and management Module 4 – Create a Company Company formation and legal considerations; operational planning; financial planning and management Module 5 – Business 101 Fundamentals of business management; marketing strategies; financial literacy Module 6 – Pitch Communication Effective communication skills; presentation skills; storytelling for business; persuasion and negotiation
• Teaching design – The course is delivered through the frequency of the 6 modules, which can be taken in presence or online. During the course, students are randomly placed in groups and then asked to identify a problem on which they will have to deliver a solution. That solution is the service or product on which they base their entrepreneurial idea. This entrepreneurial idea accompanies the student during all the sessions and it’s on this idea that the different exercises in all the modules are based. By the end of the course students need to have an idea plan for the business they are developing, as well as know how to pitch their idea.
• At the end of the course, students must give a presentation/pitch on the idea/solution they have developed over the 6 modules. This presentation assesses their achievement of the learning objectives. They also must develop an Idea Plan which addresses various parts of their business idea, such as their value proposition, customers, competition, team, how they will promote, distribute, or sell their product/service, and what their costs will be and how they will make a profit or finance their business. In the end, they must submit all the information, as well as the exercises developed during the modules so that everything can be evaluated more easily.
• The teachers should be highly qualified personnel and with vast experience in the entrepreneurial sector, startup creation and follow-up. Also, during some modules, entrepreneurs from startups are asked to pitch in and talk about their experiences as entrepreneurs.

What was learned through the implementation of the practice:

• The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Acceleration Course aims to accelerate new entrepreneurial and innovative business ideas, as well as to help prepare students to deal with different forms of intellectual property protection. It also aims to enable students to formalize business models. Students will be able to identify and exploit entrepreneurial and innovative business opportunities, but also to recognize different forms of intellectual property, design innovative business models, and to communicate and defend new business ideas. With this course, students are intended to be given the opportunity to explore the transition of their research and ideas onto new businesses or startups. All the pros and cons of this transition are tackled, and through the course several researchers/entrepreneurs will pitch in to deliver their experience.
• Students can always feedback on the course regarding the duration or the scheduled session since the course is continuously open. As of that, if a student is unable to attend one of the sessions, he could manage to take it with another class (if available). A survey is also provided so that the students can deliver their feedback on the course, relevance of the contents and if the course met their expectations. Nonetheless there is a straight openness regarding communication via e-mail to meet each parts’ expectations.
• As take aways from previous editions, students were very motivated to learn more about entrepreneurship, using a practical approach, a process that validates an idea into a project. Students also enjoyed the fact that the teachers are people with entrepreneurial experience and in that sense can give their insights, gains and pains as entrepreneurs. It’s a course to maintain. Next 20 students are already registered.