Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Wealth Creation

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

COURSE DESCRIPTION

MGMT 3087 – Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The course will address key challenges facing a start-up venture: from opportunity recognition and assessment, strategic positioning and business model selection. The course analyses dynamics that allow a firm or individual to evolve survive and compete in a global competitive environment. This learning process is interpreted along a range of dimensions including critical thinking, knowledge management, change management and innovation management, and is contextualized within the current framework of the knowledge society of the information age. Entrepreneurship is interpreted as a holistic and systemic approach required of persons who wish to create and sustain an effective business.

The course comprises 12 modules as follows:

TARGET GROUP

The course is targeted to final year students who are already engaged in entrepreneurial activities and to students who are prepared to work on a business plan for execution after graduation.

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SELECTION PROCESS

Students entering their final year of study will be required to submit a preliminary application for entry into the course. Final selection will be based on an interview that would seek to determine knowledge, skills, attitude and aptitude for venture creation.

A maximum of thirty (30) students will be selected in the following order of priority:

Twelve (12) students comprising two each from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, School of Science, School of Agriculture, and four from the Faculty of Humanities and Education.

An additional ten (10) students from across the Faculties of Engineering and Science and Agriculture and the Department of Management Studies.
An additional eight (8) students from the Department of Management Studies.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course will be one year long and would count for six credits.

The course will be delivered by a cadre of local and foreign lecturers. Each foreign lecturer will be supported by a local understudy for the purpose of knowledge transfer and capacity building.

The course will link the body of generic, specialised and expert knowledge to practicum. The practicum is an evaluative research exercise based on the students’ respective business ideas and knowledge gained from modules and case studies presented.

The purpose of the practicum is to give the participants an opportunity to learn through experience, and to apply their knowledge and skills of entrepreneurship and of innovation to capitalize on a business idea and to improve and perfect it.

Development of the practicum will involve individual supervision and close monitoring over a five-week period of the process of development of the final business plan.

Each lecturer/supervisor will be responsible for supervision of not more than three students

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AIMS OF THE COURSE

To equip individuals with a wide range of tools to identify, challenge, analyse, innovate and think critically of business opportunities.
To allow students to conceptualise and concretise business opportunities with the prospect of wealth creation for the entrepreneur and the society.
To foster a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the national economy.
To arouse, encourage, and train potential entrepreneurs to stimulate the process of entrepreneurship and wealth creation for the country and the region.
To create an awareness of how innovative ideas can lead to commercial opportunities and identify the entrepreneurial qualities required to convert these ideas into viable business propositions.

The overarching aim is that students taking this course will eventually become entrepreneurs.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

To guide students’ perspectives and equip them with the knowledge and skills required to develop business ideas for sustainable entrepreneurial and innovative activities;
To provide students with a wide range of tools to manage a complex set of dynamics in the area of entrepreneurship, innovation and wealth creation as a consequence of successful entrepreneurship and innovation;
To encourage students to apply the knowledge gained in the various modules and case studies to develop and present a comprehensive and bankable business plan for an entrepreneurial business concept.

Upon successful completion of the course, students wishing to implement their business plans will be encouraged to join our continuing programme in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Wealth Creation where they would be provided with support services for the design and implementation of the venture. Support would include the development of social networks, shared facilities such as offices, administrative staff, access to university research and technology, and information on government support agencies and external funding agencies.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES

Teaching and learning strategies would include lectures, case studies, presentations by successful local and international entrepreneurs on a wide range of business models, discussion groups and exercises. The use of simulation games will be used to assist students to think and act quickly and strategically.

Throughout the course, students would be required to engage in drafting and refining their business ideas.

ASSESSMENT

Module Assessment

Students will be assessed as pass/fail at the end of each module except Module 12 – Intellectual Property. The purpose of module assessment is to alert students to areas that they would need to revisit.

Final Course Assessment

The final course assessment comprises two main components.
These are:

Written coursework assignments in the form of case studies within various modules - 40%
A Practicum in the form of a business plan based on the student’s business idea and approved by the identified responsible lecturer- 60%

The Practicum is to outline the development of a business idea and to incorporate strategies learnt during the course of the study.

The Practicum will be assessed as Pass/Fail.

Supervisors will be assigned to each student to support expansion of the student’s business idea and writing up of the Practicum

A Cross-Faculty Examination Committee will be responsible for final evaluation of the Practicum.

COMMUNICATION

Students will have the option of communicating with foreign lecturers through the CEIWC and the network of lecturers/facilitators, both foreign and local, will be accessible to students throughout the length of the programme.

INSTRUCTORS

Click here to view the list of Lecturers involved in this programme.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Click here to view the course schedule.

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