General information


Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Julián Horrillo Tello

Trimester: First term

Credits: 4

Teaching staff: 

Jaume Teodoro Sadurní

Teaching languages


Català / Castellà /Anglés

Description


The subject of entrepreneurship and innovation, together with that of Business Administration, form a compact subject that aims to enable the student to work in the current business environment characterized by a high level of competitiveness, strong innovation and a need for professionals with initiative and drive.

 

It is an eminently practical training subject that focuses on the central competencies of the entrepreneur / innovator according to what current research and practice in this field includes.

At the end the student must reach a good level in skills such as: i) Alertiveness (ability to detect and identify opportunities), ii) creativity (ability to respond to opportunities in an original way) iii) the personal initiative (ability to carry out the solution, measuring the risks needed to take action and mobilizing the resources needed to achieve it).

 

Entrepreneurial / innovative competence is essential in the training of a graduate in accordance with the current European University Framework (Entrecomp Framework / EU) and the one that regulates the MECES2 level (Ministry of Universities). In this sense, the aggressive future is expected to have the initiative, creativity and autonomy to develop either from within an already established organization (as an intrapreneur) or by creating its own initiative (as a conventional entrepreneur or as a social entrepreneur).

 

 

 

1 ECTS = 10 hours of guided learning + 15 hours of autonomous learning = 25 hours of dedication

 

Dedication Organization: 4 ECTS

Dedication

Hours

%

Guided learning

Master class

20

 

Laboratory Practices

20

 

 

 

 

Total

40

40%

Learning

self employed

Participation (online / in-class forums or videoconference or deliverable exercises or periodic control test preparation)

30

 

Work group practices (x 3 people)

30

 

 

Total

60

60%

Total

 

100%

 

 

 

Learning outcomes


Upon completion the student should be able to:

 

  • RA1. Understand the challenges of entrepreneurship and know how to evaluate a personal entrepreneurship decision
  • RA2. Understand the framework of innovation and innovation management in a company and in the sector
  • RA3. Use standardized methodologies to carry out innovative activities, as an entrepreneur or as an agent of change in an already established organization. Use common tools in the sector
  • RA4. Analyze problems / needs and detect opportunities for entrepreneurship / innovation and look for original solutions in a creative way.
  • RA5. Design the business model of a project
  • LO6. Validate entrepreneurship and innovation projects (prototyping and testing)
  • RA7. Raise initiatives based on the financial economic planning of the entrepreneurship or innovation project
  • RA8. Defend the entrepreneurship project in front of investment forums (StartUp) or internal investment committees (Intra entrepreneurship)

 

Working methodology


The methodology of the subject based on learning by project (or learning by action - Learning by Doing in English). In this sense, the teaching combines lectures and practice classes, based on the guiding thread of a real case (an entrepreneurship/innovation project) that the student develops throughout the course.  

It is a methodology that focuses on three main objectives:

 

  1. Raise awareness on the relevance of entrepreneurship at the present time and in the student’s future work sector. This is done based on attractive examples, case studies of the sector and the visit of entrepreneurs in the sector who explain their experience. The TecnoCampus business incubator is also visited.
  2. Create a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, ie to contribute to creating an entrepreneurial mentality for the economic and social progress of the environment. This is done by introducing the language of the subject, the basic concepts that help to understand the phenomenon and methodologies of work and contemporary theories.
  3. Train in entrepreneurial and innovation skills, that is to say capacity to the student so that this one can successfully face a project of entrepreneurship and innovation, own or within the company where it works. The competence framework is crucial in this respect and the Entrecomp model of the European Commission is taken as a reference.

 

In order to work on the objectives at the methodological level, instruments such as:

 

  • Master classes: The teacher explains the concepts in the classroom (or in non-face-to-face video conferencing simultaneously). During the class the participation of the student is sought opening topics of discussion and sharing contents of reference (articles, videos, cases of the sector, actuality, ...).
  • Business cases. The teacher proposes entrepreneurship cases from the virtual campus to work in class. The case method is used in class in a way that stimulates a collaborative and participatory work where the background topic is analyzed, as well as the alternatives and possibilities.
  • Forums. The teacher opens online forums based on questions about a controversial case or issue. Each student must contribute a minimum of 2 commented comments to the forum (an original and a replica to another classmate). The teacher moderates the discussion by introducing questions to the forum over 10 days.
  • Methods. Skills training is basically developed from widely validated working methods in the current environment of entrepreneurship and real innovation. They are basically: Design Thinking, Lean StartUp and Effectuation.
  • Tools. For the development of the practices, a collection of design tools standardized in the market and usually used in the company are used. The most relevant are: Context Mind Maps, Empathy Map, Opportunity Synthesis, Braimstorming, Business Model Canvas, Service Blueprint, Lean Canvas, Financial Roadmap or Pitch
  • Platforms and software. Collaborative group work and digital skills are a fundamental pillar of the subject. For this reason the practices are in groups and use is made of collaborative work platforms (MIRO or MURAL). In addition to working with tools, the student is invited to work from online tools and learning communities. In this sense, use is made of Figma, Nvivo, ConceptBoard, Forms, SurveyMonkey, DirectPoll, etc. In addition, a community of tools and uses is created within the e-campus, in order to share discoveries and encourage cooperative work.
  • Group practical project: Throughout the course a project is developed that is at the same time the thread of the subject. To improve teamwork skills the project is done in groups (3-4 students). It starts from identifying a challenge in the sector, turning the challenge into a problem to be addressed in the form of an opportunity, looking for a solution and validating the solution. To carry out the work there are exclusive practice sessions where the teacher guides to improve the results to the maximum and reviews in order to evaluate each group in global and each member of the group in particular.

 

 

Planning

 

Guided learning

 

Autonomous learning

Hours

Content

Hours

 Internships

Activities:

Forums / exercises / test

 

Freely practical

Week 1

(introductory)

4

Basics I:

Concepts of entrepreneurship and innovation (E&I)

2

 

A1. Individual exercise 1: Personal business card

 

 

Week 2

4

Basics II:

Talent. Attitude. Personality. Motivation. Entrepreneurial team

Fundamentals III:

Design Thinking.

2

P0: High performance equipment

 

A1

 

Week 3

(research phase)

 

4

E&I Research Phase:

Challenge framing:

Stakeholders. Trends. Technology. Industry. Innovation

 

2

P1: Mind map of the challenge

 

 

 

Week 4

 

4

E&I Research Phase:

Problem discovery. Synthesis and opportunity framework

2

P2: Observation mural

 

 

P0 + P1

Week 5

4

E&I Research Phase:

Opportunity synthesis.

2

P3: Problem synthesis Map of empathy

1st TEST

Week 6

(ideation phase)

4

Ideation Phase in E&I:

Solution ideas. Value proposition

2

P4: Map of ideas

 A2. Class forum: Do the needs be created by the market or do they exist in person?

 

P2 + P3

Week 7

4

Ideation Phase in E&I:

Business idea

 

2

P5: Canvas of the business model

Incubator Visit

 

 

Week 8

4

Ideation Phase in E&I:

Prototype and Test.

 

2

P6 / 7: Prototype and validation test

 

 A2

P4 + P5

Week 9

(validation phase)

4

E & I Validation Phase:

Lean StartUp. Metrics. Experiments and measurements

Financial Plan.

 

2

P8: Financial roadmap

2nd TEST

Week 10

4

E & I Validation Phase:

Pitch business case design.

 

2

P9: Public Defense / PITCH

 

 

P6 / 7 + P8 + P9

 

 

 

 

 

Final exam

 

 

 

 

Contents


Block A: Fundamentals of entrepreneurship and innovation (30%)

Concepts in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. History. Research and state of the art in the field. Success stories in the sector. Incremental innovation and disruptive innovation. Open innovation. Creative Industries Value Chain. Innovation management. Financing and investment in entrepreneurship. Seed capital and venture capital. Entrepreneurial skills. Creativity. Design Thinking. Person-Centered Design. Service Design. Agile methodologies. Lean StartUp. Tools in entrepreneurship and innovation. Entrepreneurial team. Motivation, attitude and talent in entrepreneurship and innovation. Eclectic team.

 

Block B: Design of the entrepreneurship and innovation project (70%)

In entrepreneurship and innovation, the main theme of the project is value creation. Value creation is based on the search for the problem-solution fit and the supply-demand fit. Based on this assumption, the entrepreneur / innovator is one who turns a problem or need into demand (not covered, poorly solved or that can be better solved with new technologies or new knowledge).

To carry out an innovative project from the Agile philosophy, three phases can be differentiated: research (opportunity), ideation (solution) and validation / implementation (demand). In each phase we develop the entrepreneurial / innovation competencies of the curriculum in a learning by action: in research the competence to identify opportunities, in ideation the competence of creativity and in validation the competence of the initiative / move on to the action.

 

1. Research Phase (of the problem / need to identify the opportunity)

1.1. Starting challenge.

Concepts: Trends. Technologies. Environment. Value chain. Stakeholders Analysis

Methods: Data analysis. DAFO.PESTEL. 5 forces.

Tool: Mind map of the challenge

2.2. Research in problem area

Concept: Problem. Need.

Methods: Qualitative interview. Ethnography.

Development tool: Observation mural.

2.3. Definition and framework of opportunity

Concept: Empathy. Insight. Innovation.

Methods: Problem synthesis. Person.

Development tool: Synthesis map by empathy

 

2. Ideation Phase in E&I (of the opportunity identified in the solution from the ideation)

2.1. Value proposition

Concept: Value. Idea.

Methods: Brainstorming. Co-creation. Selection / evaluation of ideas

Development tool: Map of ideas

2.2. Business Idea

Concept: Business model. Business variables

Methods: Value generation.

Development tool: Canvas of business model

2.3. Unique offer of value

Concept: Customer experience. Minimum viable product.

Methods. Conceptual prototype. Functional prototype.

Development tool: Customer travel map (service blueprint)

 

3. Validation Phase in E&I (from the solution delimited in a first iteration to a competitive market offer and able to capture demand)

3.1. Customer generation

Concept: Customer Generation. Market. Scalability.

Methods: Lean Startup. MVP.

Development tool: Canvas validation

3.2. Financial roadmap.

Concepts. Income statement. Stock. Treasury. Investment

Methods: Metrics. Experiments. Economic and financial plan.

Development tool: Financial roadmap

3.3. Launch of the Initiative / demand

Concept: Seed capital. Investment forum. StartUp

Methods: Business case.

Development tool: Mind map of the pitch

Learning activities


 

Activity 1

Business cases in the sector

Description

Immersion is sought in a practical case that the student identifies with his sector of future professional activity. The method of the case consists of a cooperative work where from the process of guidance of the professor the case of creative form is solved

 

Learning outcomes to which it contributes

LO1, LO2, LO4, LO6

Assessment

Individual work

 

Activity 2

Discussion forums

Description

It seeks to address a topical issue or generator of different points of view and opinions

 

Learning outcomes to which it contributes

LO1, LO4, LO8

Assessment

Group practice work

 

Activity 3

Visit to the Tecnocampus incubator

Description

It is a matter of taking advantage of the opportunity of the TecnoCampus ecosystem to know first hand what the incubation phase consists of, what is needed to apply and what facilities can be had at hand.

 

Learning outcomes to which it contributes

LO2, LO5

Assessment

Individual activities

 

Activity 4

Video library / e-campus links

Description

An e-campus creates a folder with videos and relevant references from the world of innovation and entrepreneurship so that students can expand their knowledge and those who wish can go further. Some of the items contain individual-level self-test questions or access to learning communities.

Learning outcomes to which it contributes

RA4

Assessment

All of the above

 

 

Internships

Work with online methods and tools of entrepreneurship and innovation

Description

Throughout the course, the most current methods in the field are used (Business Canvas, Lean Startup, Service Design, Design Thinking, Effectuation). 

Also design methods such as: Context Mind Maps, Empathy Map, Opportunity Synthesis, Braimstorming, Business Model Canvas, Service Blueprint, Lean Canvas, Financial Roadmap or Pitch

Intensive use of collaborative work platforms (Miro, Mural or ConceptBoard)

Digital tools such as Figma, Nvivo, ConceptBoard, Google Form, Sketching, SurveyMonkey or DirectPoll are used

The methods and tools are worked in depth from the ten deliverable elements of the practices (ranging from P0 to P9 / consult the general planning of the subject)

As a final compendium of practices, the public defense of group work is based on a Pitch. Based on the PITCH activity, the teacher evaluates and the group of students makes a critical assessment emulating the role of an investor using an ad hoc rubric.

 

Learning outcomes to which it contributes

LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6, LO7, LO8

Assessment

Group practice work

 

 

Evaluation system


Ordinary assessment is carried out by continuous assessment from the following scheme (all three groups of grades must be graded with a grade greater than or equal to 4 to be eligible to be graded in continuous assessment):

 

  1. Notes individual activities (A1, A2, A3, 4): 20%
  2. Rubric of the Work of practices in group (A5, A6 and A7): 40%
    1. Attendance at successful internships is mandatory. If the attendance is less than 70% it is considered not passed / not presented (without right to recovery)
    2. The active participation of each group member is required to be qualified. In this sense, the group practice note is modulated according to the personal development of each member of the group. If the individual grade is less than 4 it is considered not passed / not presented (no right of recovery)
  3. Exam: 40% (A1 to A7)
    1. Demonstrating understanding of both theoretical and practical aspects (the exam is solved based on the content of theory classes and practice classes).
    2. If the grade is less than 4 you must go to recovery, regardless of the average grade

 

Recovery is carried out when one of the grades is less than five and is done by exam in recovery period based on the following scheme:

 

  • All suspended students who want to be evaluated must attend (as long as they have passed the internship)
  • Maximum final grade in recovery is Approved (5)

 

Evaluation System 

 

 

Ordinary assessment (continued)

Extraordinary evaluation (recovery)

Individual activity.

20%

0

Group practices via rubric

(Let> = 4)

40%

0

 

Examen 

(Let> = 4)

40%

100%

 

TOTAL:

<= 10

<= 5