Learning by focusing on a single business idea
Our courses are designed to introduce the theories and principles as well as practices that underpin entrepreneurial activity. The overall aim is to educate students by giving a grounding in this field.
This is most effectively done by having everyone in the class tackle the same business idea. This idea is used as the focus for discussion during the lecture/seminar sessions, and also for the exercises carried out during these sessions. Everyone will be working with the same information, and this means that:
- you will all learn about the key aspects of the business idea during the course delivery - this will relate the theories and concepts directly to a practical example with which everyone will very quickly become familiar
- you will be able to learn more, and in depth, about how to deal with a business concept
- you will learn more form the contributions of others in the class
- you will gain insights from the application of models and theories to this idea, and this will equip you to develop other business ideas
In addition, when you come to the report presentation and review session:
- you will be able very quickly to learn from the ways that other teams have addressed the same concept, because you will know what to look for when you look at their plans
- everyone will be able to contribute to (and to gain from) the question and discussion session
This makes the process a valuable learning exercise.
In particular, this approach gives you a creative challenge! You need to:
- creatively adapt the business idea to local market preferences (based on your market research)
- apply a creative approach to market segmentation, market positioning, distribution, pricing and communications
- apply a creative approach to developing the new business venture
Finally, it is easier for all team members to be engaged in a project that is specified, rather than a project that is one team member's particular "baby".
Business ideas selected for these courses include:
- technology-based business concepts that is not commercialised in Australia, and
- social enterprises seeking business ideas to ensure financial sustainability.
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