ENT4360 ¨C Student Venture Creation Project

Course content

The purpose of the course is to build your in-depth understanding and hands-on experience with developing a start-up project from scratch. Student groups operating as founding teams will try to develop a start-up project of their own choosing in collaboration with a local incubator. The course also functions as a live laboratory for topics covered in ENT4350 ¨C Entrepreneurial Sales and Marketing and ENT4340 ¨C Managing New Venture Growth.

Learning outcome

After completing the course, you will:

• Have advanced knowledge and deep understanding of what it takes to be an start-up entrepreneur
• Have developed your proficiency and self-confidence in defining and managing an independent start-up project from incubation and onwards
• Have developed your proficiency in working as a start-up entrepreneur, both to manage and to exploit uncertainties, lack of resources and the freedom to set direction
• Be able to identify and attract interest from potential customers and to bootstrap the commercialization process to ensure necessary progress
• Be able to work as a member of a self-governed founding team

Admission to the course

This course is available only for students admitted to the study programme Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (master).

Recommended previous knowledge

• ENT4000 ¨C Business Creation
• ENT4050 ¨C Foundations of Teamwork and Leadership
• ENT4070 ¨C Entrepreneurial Opportunity Evaluation
• ENT4330 ¨C Entrepreneurial Finance

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with ENT4220 ¨C Norwegian Practical Start-up Experience (discontinued).
• 10 credits overlap with ENT4200 ¨C Startups in Practice - Entrepreneurship.

Teaching

Project based work 3 days a week throughout the semester.

Each student group must qualify to enter presenting a proposition. Qualification criteria include quality of both an investor pitch and a project plan that includes clearly defined deliverables. Qualified groups will be given work space within an on-campus incubator, with access to resources such as mentoring, advice from other companies and ad-hoc events. Students in groups that do not qualify will work as interns in existing start-up companies.

Regular supervisory meetings with faculty.

Examination

The course grade depends on the following assignments:

• Group business plan and venture validation report including an oral group presentation accounting for in total 50% of the score. Students in the same group are given the same score. Group members who do not fulfill their obligations can be scored individually from the group.
• Project execution including ability to meet predefined final deliveries accounting for 20% of the overall score. Individual grading. Individual reflection report accounting for 30% of the overall score.

Failing a graded assignment does still allow participation in the remaining exams. All exams and assignments must be taken during the same semester.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

Resit an examination

Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.

Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass the original examination.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.