Introductory description

This is an interactive and practical module aiming to inspire students about entrepreneurship by giving them an interdisciplinary overview of the entrepreneurial process and the individual entrepreneur. It highlights the interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary nature of enterprise/entrepreneurship as a field of study and 'lift the curtain' on entrepreneurship for students from all disciplinary backgrounds.

Module web page

Module aims

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.

Indicative Content Exploring entrepreneurship from various disciplines and viewpoints, the module curates a range of expertise from the fields of Psychology, Business Studies, Education, Information Systems, Cultural Policy, and more. Each session is unique and will take you on a reflective journey of personal and academic growth.

Indicative topics covered in the module include:
The Role of Motivation and Passion in Entrepreneurship
Creative Thinking
Failure in Entrepreneurship
Social and Ethical Entrepreneurship
Digital Entrepreneurship
Intrapreneurship

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Display an understanding of the different disciplinary approaches in relation to entrepreneurship and express the complexity of entrepreneurship through multiple lenses.
• Appraise different perspectives on the same topic and make an informed evaluation
• Appreciate the value of adopting interdisciplinary approaches to enhance their understanding of their entrepreneurial mindset
• Reflect on their idea of enterprise before and after the module
• Make connections between their own discipline and the object of this module (enterprise), and formulate original research questions
• Articulate a coherent, informed and justified position regarding the role of entrepreneurship
• Communicate engagement with the topic to a non-academic audience

Indicative reading list

Feld, B. (2012). Startup Communities. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Horowitz, B. (2011). The hard thing about hard things. London, UK: HarperCollins Publishers.
Jones, C. A., & Murtola, A.-M. (2012). Entrepreneurship, crisis, critique. In D. Hjorth (Ed.) Handbook on Organisational Entrepreneurship (pp. 116-133). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
McKeown, M. (2014). The Innovation book. Maverick & Strong
Neck, H.M., Greene, P.G., and Brush C.G. (2014). Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-based approach. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Read, S., Sarasvathy, S., Dew, N., Wiltbank, R, and Ohlsson, A. (2011). Effectual entrepreneurship. Oxon: Routledge.
Ries, E. (2011). The lean start-up. London: Penguin Group.
Rideout, E.C., & Gray, D.O. (2013). Does entrepreneurship education really work? A review and methodological critique of the empirical literature on the effects of the university-based entrepreneurship education. Journal of Small Business Management, 51, pp. 329-351.
Shane, S. (2008). The illusions of entrepreneurship. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.
Trieas de Bes, F. (2008).The little black book of entrepreneurship. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.

Interdisciplinary

This module highlights the interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary nature of enterprise/entrepreneurship as a field of study. The module aims to help the students develop an enterprising mindset through an interdisciplinary overview of the process that leads to business creation. This includes reflections on different aspects of the entrepreneurial process such as the motivation to start a business, opportunity identification, risk assessment, social and legal responsibilities, financial resources and business planning.

Subject specific skills

• Reflect on themselves and their personal development as well as motivation to make the decision to start a business.
• Understand the entrepreneurial mindset, and the factors that influence the development of enterprises.
• Understand the role of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship
• Understand the different responsibilities they face when they make the decision to become entrepreneurs.

Transferable skills

• Analytical skills
• Critical reflection
• Interpersonal and communication
• Presentation skills
• Problem solving
• Team working
• Written communication skills
• Verbal communication skills