ES2B6-15 Starting a Business
Introductory description
ES2B6-15 Starting a Busness
Module aims
Economic growth requires new businesses to be established and therefore it is important to also generate enthusiasm amongst engineering students for private enterprise and business ownership as a career option and to provide them with guidance on how to start and run a business.
This needs to be at an appropriate depth and with appropriate focus, so that informed decisions can be made and so that he/she is able to communicate effectively with entrepreneurial and business colleagues.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Enterprise and Starting a Business
Small business definition & role in the economy; entrepreneurship; business planning; market research; company formation; acquiring premises; financing the business; understanding finance in a small business; intellectual property rights, managing the business; employment issues in enterprises; growth of a business, exiting the business, enterprise policy.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Understand the environment in which the business and the entrepreneur exist.
- Apply business tools including market research and financial appraisal to inform the business start-up and manage its initial growth.
- Understand the concepts of company formation, intellectual property rights, employment issues and other start-up constraints.
- Produce and appraise a business plan for a new enterprise
- Present the business plan to a group of ‘investors’ and defend the robustness of it.
Indicative reading list
Colin and Paul Barrow and Rick Brown, 'The Business Plan Workbook', 6th Edition, Kogan Page, 2012.
Eric Ries, The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses, 2011
Nir Eyal, Hooked: how to build habit forming products, 2014
Rob Fitzpatrick, The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you, 2013
Muhammad Yunus, Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism that Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs , 2011
Michael Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, 2001
Sir Richard Branson, Screw it, Let's Do it: Lessons in Life and Business, 2010
Peter Thiel and Blake Masters, Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future, 2015
Richard Blundel, Exploring Entrepreneurship: Practices and Perspectives, 2011
Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Now, Discover Your Strengths: How to Develop Your Talents and Those of the People You Manage 2005.
Subject specific skills
TBC
Transferable skills
TBC
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 19 sessions of 1 hour (13%) |
| Seminars | 2 sessions of 1 hour (1%) |
| Practical classes | 2 sessions of 1 hour (1%) |
| Other activity | 2 hours (1%) |
| Private study | 125 hours (83%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
Private Study 125 hrs
Other activity description
2 x 1 hr consultancy
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Upper Level Pitch Presentation | 20% | No | |
|
15-minute Upper Level Pitch Group Presentation, including peer assessment |
|||
| Group Report | 80% | No | |
|
3000-word group report, including peer assessment |
|||
Feedback on assessment
Written feedback on Group Reports and Upper Level Pitch Presentation; Formative feedback in Tutorials.
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 2 of UESA-HN15 BEng Engineering Business Management
- Year 2 of UESA-HN11 BSc Engineering and Business Studies
This module is Optional for:
- Year 2 of UESA-HN12 BEng Engineering Business Management
- Year 2 of UESA-HH73 BEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H310 BEng Mechanical Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H315 BEng Mechanical Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-HH36 BEng Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H112 BSc Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H636 MEng Electronic Engineering with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of UESA-HH38 MEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of UESA-H311 MEng Mechanical Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H316 MEng Mechanical Engineering
- Year 2 of UCSA-G406 Undergraduate Computer Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of UCSA-G408 Undergraduate Computer Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H605 Undergraduate Electrical and Electronic Engineering
This module is Option list A for:
- Year 2 of UESA-H335 BEng Automotive Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H161 BEng Biomedical Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H216 BEng Civil Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H63W BEng Electronic Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H113 BEng Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-HH75 BEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-HH35 BEng Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H112 BSc Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H336 MEng Automotive Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H163 MEng Biomedical Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H217 MEng Civil Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H63X MEng Electronic Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H114 MEng Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-HH76 MEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H316 MEng Mechanical Engineering
-
UESA-HH31 MEng Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of HH31 Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of HH35 Systems Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H605 Undergraduate Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H606 Undergraduate Electrical and Electronic Engineering MEng
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 2 of UESA-H216 BEng Civil Engineering
- Year 2 of UESA-H217 MEng Civil Engineering