Aim of the course

The aim of this course is to provide students with theoretical and applied knowledge on entrepreneurship and innovation.

The key learning objectives are:

Ø  exploring entrepreneurship as a manageable process.

Ø  identifying sources, rate, and direction of technological change;

Ø  understanding the role and challenges of innovation across sectors, countries, and organizations;

Rules of the game

The course is organized in sessions. It mixes theory with practice, and students will be challenged to apply principles, concepts and frameworks to real world situations.

Each session is comprised of two classes. Vangelis Souitaris teaches primarily with cases and he has merged both theoretical and practical elements in both classes of his sessions. There will be two guest sessions by Innovation professors Federica Ceci and Francesca Masciarelli.

The discussion is going to be guided by the inputs provided by students through their active involvement, by which we mean that for each session (but the first one), students are expected to:

1. Before each session, study the material – usually one paper and / or case studies – suggested in the reading list;
2. During the session, actively discuss other students’ presentations and papers.

This teaching approach is due to two related factors: (a) it is hard to teach an applied subject since it requires a certain amount of contextualization to specific organizations, sectors, or countries; (b) We believe in the old saying “tell me and I will forget, show me and I will remember, involve me and I will understand” (Confucius).

Grading

The grade is based on a written exam (50%) and a group presentation (40%). Active involvement in each class – e.g. attendance, participation to discussion, and short presentations – will add up to 10% of the final grade. 

Attendance

Since the material in this course builds session by session, attendance at each session is important. Please notify us before class via email if you are unable to attend a session due to illness, family emergency, or an unavoidable conflict. No compensatory work will be given for an absence. Excused absences will not directly influence your grade. Unexcused absences will influence your grade. More than three unexcused absences will result in a failing grade for the course. Those students who are unable to attend the entire course for substantial reasons should contact us before the start of the course.

Laptop and Mobile Phone Policy

All laptops and mobiles should be down unless instructed otherwise by the convenor.

Topics

Ø  Managing the new product development process

Ø  Strategy and organizational issues on innovation

Ø  Open innovation

Ø  The entrepreneurial process

Ø  Market and innovation: A rejoinder

Ø  Evaluating entrepreneurial opportunities

Ø  Building the entrepreneurial team

Ø  Raising finance for entrepreneurship

Ø  Entrepreneurial growth and exit