General provisions

The course is offered as a single subject course and can be included in an education programme at Uppsala University according to the degree system. The course syllabus was approved by the board of the Department of Business Studies on delegation from the Faculty of Social Sciences and takes effects as of 2011-08-29.

Entry requirements

60 credits

Learning outcomes

This course prepares participants for a future career as entrepreneurs, either as founders of new businesses or within already established companies. It is designed to give participants practical insights into those business aspects that are particularly important during a firm’s early development phases, and to make them more effective in managing and growing the start-up firm. It also provides the cornerstones for successfully launching and implementing entrepreneurial projects within already established organisations.

By the end of the course, participants will know how to pro-actively deal with some of the most common challenges involved in launching a new business venture. Specifically, they will be able to:

• Write a business plan and effectively communicate and “sell” new business concepts to other people.

• Understand financial statements and basic company valuation.

• Distinguish between different sources of financing and select those that best fit the requirements of the new entrepreneurial venture.

• Carry out successful negotiations with various actors that become associated with the new venture.

• Formulate a business strategy for the new venture that can be communicated to external stakeholders.

• Successfully internationalise the new venture, which involves careful market selection and positioning of products and services in foreign markets.

• Launch and develop new business ventures inside established corporations, and make them survive in an often hostile environment.

Content

While entrepreneurship can be as theoretical as any field of research, the entrepreneurship course has a distinctly practical orientation. Organising frameworks, analytical tools, and discussions around real-life cases provide practical guidance in addressing and solving common problems and challenges in managing the start-up and growing firm. Individual topics include, but are not necessarily limited to: The myths and facts about entrepreneurship, selling and marketing new products and services, understanding financial statements, company valuation, financing the start-up firm, managing growth, devising a strategy for the expanding firm, negotiations, internationalisation, and entrepreneurship inside the established corporation.

Instruction

Teaching involves a mix of: (a) Lectures that introduce organising frameworks and analytical tools, (b) guest lectures where active entrepreneurs and prominent practitioners share their business experiences and insights with the course participants, and (c) real-life case discussions. In the case discussions, course participants are exposed to a range of business problems and asked to produce practical recommendations and solutions. Some of the cases involve role plays around various business situations and problems.

Much of the learning will take place during the individual sessions, so active participation is strongly recommended. The course is taught in English.

Assessment

The student will get one single grade, equivalent to 7.5 credits.

The examination consists of a take-home exam and oral and written assignments, carried out both individually and in groups. The grade for the entire course is based on an assessment of all parts of the examination.

Grading criteria are presented in the study guide that applies to the course section. The following grades will be used, pass with distinction (VG), pass (G) and fail (U). Examinations handed in late will not be assessed except under special circumstances. Any remaining supplemental work must be handed in by the deadline specified in the study guide.

For students who have not received a passing grade for the course, the entire course (including all examinations) will have to be redone during subsequent course sections, pending availability on the course.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating or plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Vice-Chancellor, which may issue a formal warning to the student or suspend the student from studies for a certain period.

NOTE: Only completed courses can count toward a degree.

Transitional provisions

The course replaces/overlaps among others the following courses: Entrepreneurship A 2FE031, Entrepreneurship 2FE026, Entrepreneurship, Basic Course A 2FE012, Entrepreneurship, avancerad kurs D 2FE523, Entrepreneurship 8FE623.