STARTUP LAB | Università degli studi dell'Insubria

Degree course:

Corso di Second cycle degree in GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT

Academic year when starting the degree:

2021/2022

Year:

Academic year in which the course will be held:

2021/2022

Course type:

Compulsory subjects, characteristic of the class

Seat of the course:

Varese - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria

Language:

English

Credits:

Standard lectures hours:

Detail of lecture’s hours:

Lesson (40 hours)

Requirements:

None

Final Examination:

Orale

For students attending class, the final valuation is based on in-class interaction and assignments (both at individual and group level). Assignment will include: the groupwork of the lab of the first semester, as well as business cases / article discussions and groupworks in the second semester .
Students will work at individual level and in small groups benefiting from the support of professors, entrepreneurs and mentors to identify and fine-tune a solution to the challenges presented during the course. In both semesters, students will also be stimulated to get out of the building and test their hypothesis with short market tests. The goal of the evaluation is to assess the student’s ability to interact with professors/entrepreneurs/mentors and peers as well as his/her ability to process the information learned, gather additional information and synthetically pitch in front of an audience.

More precisely, the assignment of the first part of the course represent the 70% of the exam, while the second part (w/the visiting professor) the remaining 30%.

To succeed, students must obtain not less than 18 (eighteen) out of 30 (thirty). Students whose groupwork obtain a total sum higher than 30 are entitled to pass the exam with honor (cum laude).
Tailor-made work assignments will be assigned by the teacher to students who are not able to attend the class.

Assessment:

Voto Finale

The course is a balanced mix of theory and practice in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation. It specifically provides students with the unique opportunity to practice with technological and entrepreneurial innovation both through “labs” with innovative tech companies (startups and scaleups) and seminars with Visiting Professors from San Francisco State University.

Specifically, the course is organized in two parts:
1) The FIRST part takes place in the first semester and is structured as a “lab”. It aims at providing the basics for starting a new venture and/ or spin-offing a research project, and managing the initial difficulties typically arising in the early stage of development of a new venture.
During the lab, students will have the unique opportunity to work with entrepreneurs/managers to address some concrete business cases. For each Lab a company will be selected. The management team of the company will be invited in class to present the company’s strategy, business model and plans and introduce some specific challenges it is currently facing. The students - in groups - will be required to work on solving the challenges by proposing detailed solutions to the company. During their work, students will have the opportunity to interact with the company and be assisted by mentors thanks to a partnership with Mind the Bridge Foundation, Top-ix and CrESIT. A final pitching session in front of the company’s top management will close the course.
2) The SECOND part of the course takes place in the second semester and is organized during a one week period. It includes both front lectures and workgroups (conceived to let students practice the managerial tools presented in class). It is focused on current issues re: the management of technological and entrepreneurial innovation (including sustainability related issues). Specific topics will be addressed based on the background of the Visiting Professor coming from San Francisco State University (SFSU) and providing insights to students in the week they spend at Insubria University.
Overall course objectives involve students achieving some advanced learning outcomes, i.e.:
- a thorough knowledge of what innovation is and why it is critical to an organization’s success.
- examples of how today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful business with specific focus on high-tech products and markets.
- an understanding of how to introduce innovative (high-tech) product/services/business model into the market.
- Issues and opportunities re: startup-corporate interaction and open innovation will be also analysed through business cases.
Therefore, at the end of the course, students will be able to:
- use the appropriate terminology used in the field of study of entrepreneurship and innovation management in high-tech companies;
- manage the appropriate tools – presented during the course – to provide (and present) a solution for the proposed challenges;
Stage and thesis opportunities may also arise.

FIRST PART OF THE COURSE - DETAILED PROGRAM:
*From the business idea to fundraising.
*The growth path of startups.
*How to scale-up.
*Pitching clinique: effective communication techniques and presentation skills

*The “Startup Lab” - collaboration with the selected company and the mentors:
- Challenges assessment
- Problem solving via data gathering/analysis
- Groupworks (company-students interaction on the specific challenges presented)
- Presentation of groupworks (company-mentors-students interaction).

At the beginning of the course, details of the selected company for the course will be provided to students.

SECOND PART OF THE COURSE - DETAILED PROGRAM:
Main topics addressed by the Visiting Professor from SFSU: entrepreneurship, technology and Innovation with special focus on practices necessary to stimulate and manage innovation in a business.
Detailed program to be defined once visiting professors are appointed.

The detailed program along with the schedule of the lessons will be published also on the e-learning platform.

Professors

PISONI ALESSIA