Entrepreneurship and Innovation – Master's Programme

Semester 1, September

The course covers a range of models and methods for opportunity generation and evaluation. The objective is to assist students to develop their abilities to discover and generate business opportunities. The course consists of four parts; introduction to the entrepreneurial process, opportunity recognition, entrepreneurial decision making and teamwork in the entrepreneurial process. The course discusses entrepreneurship in different contexts including the new venture and the corporate context. This course is taken by both tracks.

Course code: ENTN01 | Download syllabus

Semester 1, November

In this course the student develops an understanding about different forms of business models. Furthermore, the student gains an understanding of the conditions for business model development. Based on this the student develops an ability to develop, iterate and test business models.

Course code: ENTN10 | Download syllabus

Value creation is a central topic in entrepreneurship. We have recently witnessed fundamental changes with regards to the types of value an entrepreneur has the opportunity to propose. This is in response to changes in customer needs, technological innovation, an increasing focus in social impact and a demand towards being more sustainable. Entrepreneurs can be expected to create and propose blended value which attends to their customes and users, but also society and our planet (sustainability). The understanding of how and what kinds of value entrepreneurs create and propose is thus central to this course.

In this course students begin to form their teams for their entrepreneurial project and work actively to test and understand their value propositions.

Course code: ENTN07 | Download syllabus

Semester 1, November

The course provides students with knowledge and skills to identify, understand and tackle key challenges associated with leading a startup with growth ambitions. The course focuses on “people- problems” faced and created by different groups of people, such as founders, co-founders, hires, investors and successors. Critical issues include identifying and recruiting co-founders, establishing roles, relationships and rewards within the startup team, hiring new talent, onboarding investors, and managing succession.

Course code: ENTN15 | Download syllabus

Semester 1, December

This course provides students with theoretical and practical knowledge about resource management and finance of new ventures. The students will get to know and use basic frameworks and techniques for analyzing and utilizing critical resources and capabilities in emerging ventures. There will be emphasis on issues like the control and influence over resources in the pursuit of new venture opportunities, the assessment of financial requirements in new ventures, bootstrapping strategies, venture capital markets, and decisions about company foundation, ownership, outside assistance, and other legal issues (corporate governance).

In addition, the course will enhance the students’ knowledge about the financial markets for new ventures. Particularly the way different investors, such as banks, venture capitalists and business angels make their investments in new ventures, and how they manage their portfolio after the investments are made.

Course code: ENTN16 | Download syllabus

In parallell with other courses during both autumn and spring (September–June)

The students start the project work already at the outset of the programme and the course follows the students’ entrepreneurial process throughout. Most of the project workload of the entrepreneurial projects take place during the second study period. The course follows, supports and is structured around the students’ own entrepreneurial project. Successful completion of the entrepreneurial project is required to obtain the certificate at the end of the master education.

It should be explicitly mentioned that successful completion of the entrepreneurial project does not necessarily mean that the project must end up as a successfully launched venture, although this is a desired goal. What is important is that the entrepreneurial project has served as a learning process and that the students involved have been equipped with valuable experiences that can be utilized in future entrepreneurial ventures.

The process of carrying out students’ entrepreneurial projects will be characterized by continuous support in the form of a dedicated advisory board per project, continuous feedback from mentors and teachers. 

The course is examined on three items:

• First, the entrepreneurial process, which is assessed by the projects advisory board and based upon action taken, milestones being met and the progress made during the programme.
• Second, a ‘Pitch Deck’ which will be submitted in written and visual form but also presented at a programme Demoday, in addition to the submission of the pitch deck, project teams will also submit a complementary project validation report. Third, from the outset of the programme students will submit fortnightly learning journals. In the learning journal students will reflect upon the actions they have taken in relation to theory from the programme.
• The culmination of these journals is a final meta reflection report, where students outline their own entrepreneurial process and journey.

Course code: ENTN08 | Download syllabus

Semester 2, January–June

In the course the students will independently, in smaller groups, design and carry out their own academic study.

This includes:

• identifying a research problem inspired by their own practice of entrepreneurship,
• searching for and selecting relevant literature, learning about the different methodological challenges and considerations included in conducting an academic study,
• collecting and analysing relevant empirical data, and presenting orally and in writing their theoretical and methodological approach,
• findings and conclusions together with the knowledge and arguments on which they are based.

As part of the learning process, the students are also expected to read and discuss the work of other students that attend the course.

Course code: ENTN19 | Download syllabus