IL120-15 Entrepreneurship: A Critical Perspective

Department: Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning
Level: Undergraduate Level 3
Module leader: Vishalakshi Roy
Credit value: 15
Module duration: 10 weeks
Assessment: 100% coursework
Study location: University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

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 main steps involved in setting up and running a new venture. 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

The module aims to help the students appreciate the complexities of entrepreneurship and 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, social and legal responsibilities.

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 a deep and critical understanding of the different disciplinary approaches in relation to entrepreneurship and express the complexity of entrepreneurship through multiple lenses.
Critically 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
Critically 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 imaginative and original research questions
Articulate a coherent, informed and justified critical 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

Teaching split

Provider	Weighting
Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning	75%
SCAPVC - Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies	20%
Psychology	5%

Study time

Type	Required
Lectures	9 sessions of 1 hour (6%)
Seminars	6 sessions of 1 hour (4%)
Tutorials	1 session of 2 hours (1%)
Practical classes	3 sessions of 1 hour (2%)
Private study	30 hours (20%)
Assessment	100 hours (67%)
Total	150 hours

Private study description

Private study hours include background reading, completing reading/other tasks in preparation for timetabled teaching sessions and follow-up reading work.

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A1

	Weighting	Study time	Eligible for self-certification
2500 word reflective essay	50%	60 hours	Yes (extension)
Write a critical reflection on entrepreneurship based on one or more of the topics discussed in the module making specific reference to the content discussed in the session/s
Presentation	40%	30 hours	No
Deliver a 15 minute (max) presentation on what entrepreneurship means to you. You can use any method you prefer (e.g. prepare a short video, draw and present your idea of entrepreneurship, interview an entrepreneur).
Blog	10%	10 hours	Yes (extension)
Write a short article about one or multiple module sessions on a burning question you have regarding entrepreneurship in general or a specific topic discussed during the sessions.

Feedback on assessment

Detailed written feedback will be provided by tutors to individual students for both assignment. Formative oral feedback will also be given to students during seminars throughout the module.

Courses

This module is Core optional for:

Year 3 of ULFA-C1A6 Undergraduate Biochemistry with Industrial Placement (MBio)

This module is Option list B for:

Year 3 of UBSA-C700 Undergraduate Biochemistry
ULFA-C1A2 Undergraduate Biochemistry (MBio)
- Year 3 of C1A2 Biochemistry
- Year 3 of C700 Biochemistry
Year 4 of ULFA-C702 Undergraduate Biochemistry (with Placement Year)
Year 3 of UBSA-3 Undergraduate Biological Sciences
Year 3 of ULFA-C1A1 Undergraduate Biological Sciences (MBio)
Year 4 of ULFA-C113 Undergraduate Biological Sciences (with Placement Year)
Year 3 of ULFA-C1A5 Undergraduate Biological Sciences with Industrial Placement (MBio)
Year 3 of UBSA-C1B9 Undergraduate Biomedical Science
ULFA-C1A3 Undergraduate Biomedical Science (MBio)
- Year 3 of C1A3 Biomedical Science
- Year 3 of C1B9 Biomedical Science
Year 3 of ULFA-C1A7 Undergraduate Biomedical Science with Industrial Placement (MBio)
Year 4 of ULFA-CB18 Undergraduate Biomedical Science with Placement Year
Year 3 of ULFA-B140 Undergraduate Neuroscience (BSc)
Year 3 of ULFA-B142 Undergraduate Neuroscience (MBio)
Year 3 of ULFA-B143 Undergraduate Neuroscience (with Industrial Placement) (MBio)