| Unit name | Innovation Led Entrepreneurship in Practice |
|---|---|
| Unit code | INOVM0012 |
| Credit points | 60 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Mr. Dave Jarman |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Centre for Innovation |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This final project acts as a focus for the accumulated skills resulting from all other units within the Innovation and Entrepreneurship master's degree programme: the overarching aim is application of those skills within an innovative and creative conceptualisation, design and development cycle leading to a potentially viable and sustainable start-up venture.
The unit offers a high degree of freedom to select and develop a project, and allows students to work together as a collaborative development team or to work on their own if they wish; spending a significant amount of time and effort on the research and development of a novel solution to a clearly identified market driven need. The end result will be a demonstrator, product prototype or proof of concept which can be presented to potential investors or stakeholders, alongside a full enterprise plan and elevator pitch. This unit provides an opportunity to refine and exercise a highly transferable set of skills including collaborative team-work, self-awareness, self-reflection, self-management; creative design; research; product or service development and prototyping; analysis, critique, and evaluation; entrepreneurship and new venture creation. The aim is to prepare students with the ability to meet challenges, while at the same time collaborating with staff, fellow students and/or external clients in an innovation and entrepreneurial environment (the Knot) to deliver a substantial body of work that they can proudly demonstrate as genuinely viable.
On successful completion of this unit students should be able to:
1. Conceive and design a new product or service as the basis for a successful innovation led entrepreneurial venture to satisfy a new social, environmental, cultural, political market need;
2. Use rapid prototyping/proof of concepts to design innovative and creative solutions and a final demonstrator;
3. Reflect on the relevant range of management and business practices applicable to their chosen innovation led entrepreneurial venture, taking into account a range of possible constraints;
4. Apply relevant and applicable theories and frameworks in a reliable manner, taking into account their limitations, to support decision making in a new innovation led entrepreneurial business;
5. Identify, understand and evaluate risks associated with starting a new innovation led entrepreneurial business or enterprise and put in place appropriate management and mitigation measures;
6. Identify, extract and analyse commercial, business and reference information pertinent to starting a innovation led enterprise;
7. Demonstrate skills in collaboration, self-reflection, awareness, action planning and management as a basis for taking the start-up forward;
8. Produce a professional report including detailed business plan, enterprise elevator pitch and final demonstrator for potential investors/stakeholders to consider.
9. Reflect analytically on all aspects of the project, its context and development.
The project is intended to promote self-directed and collaborative learning, under guidance of an academic supervisor (plus any relevant external third-parties).
1) The group or individual project report - 70% of the overall mark.
2) An enterprise elevator pitch (a presentation of the problem, their innovative idea and new venture plan) - 10% of the overall mark.
3) 3000 word individual critique of the project and reflection on personal learning outcomes - 20% of the overall mark.
The report should describe the process of discovering, defining, developing and reiterating the idea; designing, prototyping and evaluating the proof of concept of the product or service; target market/context analysis, engagement and user testing; and new venture creation (including financial business plan, IP, resource profile and risk analysis etc). An enterprise elevator pitch and submitted resources such as prototypes, proof of concepts and/or final demonstrator, will also act to clarify the understanding of markers. In undertaking the project the students are demonstrating they understand the demands and needs of starting an innovation led enterprise.
The students will negotiate the groups they work in and the size of their group at the start of the unit or students may work on their own if they wish. Each project will be marked by two members of the assessment panel and project marks will be then subject to moderation. The group marks for the group report and elevator pitch will be peer adjusted to achieve an individual mark for each student contributing to a group project. Students will be assessed on the value that they contribute to the project.
The report, individual critique and elevator pitch will cover and assess all of the intended learning outcomes.
Criteria for assessment include (but are not limited to):
● Challenge how difficult the project was? Was the problem and proposed solution appropriate to their resource profile? How did they address issues, risks and challenges along the way in order to reflect, critique and strengthen their idea(s)?
● Novelty and innovation how innovative was their idea/solution to the proposed problem?
● Contribution what was done beyond what existed already? Quality of the final demonstrator in being able to communicate the innovative product or service?
● Depth and rigour has the idea and new venture plan been thoroughly thought through? Have they missed anything? Given the right resources post project how confident are the assessors that the project could go on to become a successful and sustainable enterprise based on the details in the report and enterprise elevator pitch.
● Enterprise pitch did the group give a clear enterprise elevator pitch and were the questions handled well?
● Clarity and quality of presentation of the report does the report cover all the elements required and is it well written?
Dependent on project chosen by individual/group
