Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Startup (BØK385)

On this course, you will make a business plan in a small group. Making a business plan is a kind of summary of many of the other courses that a bachelor student has studied.

To explain the content of this course we will use some statements from "BØK385-students":

"In this course you have to use all of what you have read and probably learnt in other courses. It is really interesting and challenging to practice what you have learnt. And to practice is more difficult than I have thought - all the students should attend this course!"

Welcome to Entrepreneurship and Business Plan!

Knowledge

Students will gain a theoretical and practical understanding of how research or knowledge-based businesses are created and how these ideas can form the basis for specific businesses.

Important themes in the program are: What is entrepreneurship, market analysis, patent/IPR, creativity, finances, budgets, the contents of a business plan, sales/marketing and financing?

During the course, students will learn:

- How ideas or research can become commercialized.

- What characterizes innovation

- How an idea can be turned into a business concept

- What it takes to realize a business idea

- What characterizes a successful start-up company

- Business Plan objectives and structure

- Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) or "intellectual property" as a strategic tool for business development

- Methods and techniques for investigating market needs and potential demand

- Business model

- Organization, board, management

- Valuation, financing strategy and sources.

Students should be able to acquire the knowledge needed to start and manage a business, considered to be a manageable task. 

Skills

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

- Prepare a business plan

- Evaluate the potential of different business ideas

- Clarify the product or the service function for customers/users, customer value and cost estimates

- Perform competitor, industry and trend analysis

- Perform financial analysis, profitability analysis and risk analysis and identify resource requirements

- Prepare and perform a presentation for investors  

General competence

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

- Plan and establish a business that spans time, alone or as part of a group

- Acquire updated knowledge in the above mentioned areas of expertise and skills, and also other areas within this subject

- Convey key subject matter through the relevant forms of expression

- Exchange views and experiences with other professionals and help to develop good practice

- Reflect on ethical issues within the discipline

- See the topic in a broader context from a societal perspective

- Apply the acquired expertise of innovation in established companies

Course teacher(s)

Study Program Director:

Course coordinator:

Course teacher:

The workload is estimated to 270 hours for an ordinary student. (Appriximately exprected as 30 hours lecture, 5 hours presentations, reading material and writing on a business plan 200 hours, prepare for a oral exam with presentation and defence 40 hours.) Instruction is provided through 3 hour sessions. A schedule will be available at course start. Active participation in classes is expected. Between sessions, participants must work on their business plan independently in their groups. Students will receive guidance from lecturers/mentors from the business community.

The sessions will be organized as a combination of lectures, group discussions and presentations. During the course we will use guest speakers who are specialists within their fields.

Participants are expected to work on their group project and business plan throughout the semester

It is a requirement that students work together in groups of 3-5, and we encourage interdisciplinary groups. The final mark for the submitted business plan is determined on the basis of the formal quality of the business plan, i.e. how well it is documented and argued for the choices made and how the analyzes are conducted. It is the group's responsibility to find a project or idea for the business plan; however, the lecturer will be able to assist in finding appropriate projects.

In Norwegian: Etablering av egen bedrift. Vaardal-Lunde and Barkved.

In English: The Small Business START-UP Workbook. Rickman