General provisions

The course syllabus was approved by the board of the Department of Business Studies on delegation from the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. Also required is 90 credits in business studies. Proficiency in English.

For incoming exchange students only 60 credits or equivalent in business studies are required, though 90 credits is strongly recommended. Proficiency in English.

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 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

The language of instruction is English. 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.

Assessment

The examination occurs through both oral and written assignments. The examination is based both upon individual and/or group assignments. The final grade of the course is decided after consideration of all of the different examination assignments. The grading criteria are presented in the study guide, which is distributed at course start. The following grades will be used: VG (pass with distinction), G (pass) and U (fail). Take-home exams and work assignments handed in after deadlines are not graded, except in special circumstances. Moreover, remaining assignments and supplements must be completed and handed in within the time given in the study guide. Otherwise the test in question will receive a grade of U. The entire course (including all assignments) will then have to be redone the next time the course is given, provided there is space in the course.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating and plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Disciplinary Committee of the University, 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.

Other regulations

The course substitutes/overlaps among others the following courses in Entrepreneruship: 2FE001, 2FE003, 2FE005, 2FE012, 2FE013, 2FE026, 2FE031, 2FE105, 8FE623.