| Unit name | Entrepreneurship Action Project |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MGRC30013 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Marsili |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
New solutions to economic and societal problems hinge on the initiative of enterprising individual who act often at the risk that their ventures will fail. To effectively manage risk, it has been suggested to approach entrepreneurship as a ‘scientific method’ of experimentation. Working in teams you will apply the tools and techniques of the scientific method to real-life situations in an action-oriented project with the purpose of developing and testing a business model for your own idea. In doing so, you will acquire analytical tools for creative problem solving and for assessing the value of an idea and will enhance your entrepreneurial skills and mindset.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit provides entrepreneurial tools and methods which will help you to develop and validate new business ideas building on your own knowledge and experience of business and management.
An overview of content
You will learn the principles of entrepreneurial experimentation and how to apply the scientific method in entrepreneurship. This will involve formulate testable hypotheses about a specific business model, gather and analyse real data and make decisions based on the evidence supporting or not your hypotheses.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
This unit will inspire you to be a reflective thinker when engaging in entrepreneurship. You will appreciate the importance of formulating and testing a specific theory of your idea as way to manage risk and enhance the chances of success in any entrepreneurial setting such as a start-up, social enterprise and fast-growing company.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
The unit will be delivered through lectorials (3 hours) which will take place every week for 10 weeks. Because of the project-based character of this unit, the lectorials are designed as workshops to provide guidelines on relevant tools and techniques, to carry out in-class tasks of the action plan, and to discuss the progress of your project step-by-step. Participation in the workshops and teamwork are essential for the successful completion of the action project.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
With this unit you will complete an Action Plan consisting of in-class and at-home weekly tasks to carry out individually or as group work. These formative tasks will include preparing an elevator-pitch of the idea in one-minute video to present in class for feedback from the lecturer and peer-to-peer. Other formative tasks will consist in designing and implementing small experiments and data collection exercises to test your ideas. The Action Plan will guide you through the steps necessary week-by-week to complete the summative assignment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Four components count towards the unit mark:
Project report (40%): final group report of the project (max 2000 words)
Project journal (10%): weekly group blogs documenting the action plan
Project presentation (20%): final in-class 10 minutes group presentation & Q&As
Individual reflection (30%): final individual report (max 700 words)
The project report will explain the business model, the method used to test it and the research findings (ILO 1-3) and will propose a course of action based on the collected evidence (ILO 4). The report provides the groundwork and support for pitching your business idea in the project presentation (ILO 1-4). The project journal will document how the team implemented the Action Plan in the development and validation of the business idea (ILO 1, ILO 6).
In the individual component of the coursework, each student will reflect on the approach taken in the project to solve a specific challenge recognised as important from their own perspective and assess implications (ILO 5).
The mark of the project journal will be released at the same time as the project report’s mark, considering the journal completed after all the weekly blogs have/haven’t been entered. The unit uses an equity share approach to allow students to reflect the differential efforts of group members in the completion of group work (ILO 6).
When assessment does not go to plan
Re-assessment of units within the final year of undergraduate modular programmes is not permitted (regulation 30.18). When extenuating circumstances apply, students will be reassessed with an individual assignment (80%) and video presentation (20%).
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MGRC30013).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
