Course manual 2018/2019

Course content

Entrepreneurship, defined here as ‘the creation, discovery and exploitation of value-adding opportunities’, is an increasingly important subject for students and professionals, also in the discipline of physics. The growing complexity and accelerating dynamics of the technologies that lie behind life sciences pre-clinical studies, medical treatments, alternative and sustainable energy sources, innovative material, micro- and nanodevices, and complex research projects in the high energy particle physics and astrophysics sectors, emphatically urge professionals to think, act, and communicate in an entrepreneurial way.

In this course, students will learn the ropes of this emerging field via three educational pillars:

1) Students will be learning modern theories of entrepreneurship, with focus on the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation, sustainable entrepreneurship, valorization of knowledge, and entrepreneurial competences.

2) They will familiarize with a set of entrepreneurial soft skills, which they will put into practice when they will be asked to approach different stakeholders to further their projects to gain commitments or to obtain important information. For this purpose, the students will receive training in generating initial ideas for opportunities, and networking and network utilization.

3) They will be introduced to business planning. For this purpose, the students, supported by guest lecturers and coaching sessions, will write (in small groups) a Business Model Canvas report around an innovative idea that they deem interesting for entrance into the market.

All projects and initiatives will of course revolve around innovative ideas emerging from physics research activities.

Study materials

At the start of the course, students will be given a list of papers and other literature material needed for the course. All the material will be made available in Canvas or via the library.

Objectives

After the successful completion of this course, the student will:

- Understand and be able to apply the basic elements of entrepreneurship.

- Understand, analyze, and evaluate the social and ecological aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship.

- Analyze and evaluate business cases related to entrepreneurship.

- Create a business idea and a business plan.

- Understand, be able to apply, analyze, evaluate, and create an entrepreneurial process that brings a scientific idea to market.  

Teaching methods

- Lectures

- Case analyses

- Computer simulations

- Individual feedback

Learning activities

Activity

Hours

Hoorcollege

26.25

Tentamen

5.5

Self study

136.25

Total

168

(6 EC x 28 uur)

Attendance

Requirements concerning attendance (OER-B).

  • In addition to, or instead of, classes in the form of lectures, the elements of the master’s examination programme often include a practical component as defined in article 1.2 of part A. The course catalogue contains information on the types of classes in each part of the programme. Attendance during practical components is mandatory.
  • Assessment

    Item and weight Details

    Final grade

    50%

    Tentamen

    Must be ≥ 5.5

    40%

    BCM

    Must be ≥ 5.5

    10%

    Case Analysis

    Must be ≥ 5.5

    Inspection of assessed work

    To inspect the assessed work, students can schedule an appointment with the teacher.

    Assignments

    10% group work on a business case: students will provide a set of slides, with narrative description, on a entrepreneurship in physics case that the teachers will select

    40% group work on Business Canvas Model: students will create a short business plan, based on the BCM, on an idea-to-market program that relates to the topic of physics

    50% individual work via standard written exam: the written exam comprises theoretical questions and mini-cases.

    Fraud and plagiarism

    The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

    Course structure

    This information will be provided at the start of the course.

    Contact information

    Coordinator

    • prof. dr. D. Iannuzzi