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Module

NBS8618 : Sustainable Venture Creation

  • Offered for Year: 2024/25
  • Module Leader(s): Dr Eftychia Palamida
  • Lecturer: Dr Kautsar Ramli
  • Owning School: Newcastle University Business School
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 1 Credit Value: 10
Semester 2 Credit Value: 10
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System

Aims

The Sustainable Venture Creation module focuses on students deep understanding regarding sustainable entrepreneurship and provides the opportunity of theoretically and practically exploring concepts related to venture creation.

The module aims to:

1. Provide students with experience in identifying, evaluating and exploiting challenges/opportunities regarding the ideation, planning and de-risking of a sustainable venture.

2. Develop students’ awareness of value creation related to diverse stakeholders’ perspective and apply this knowledge in a real-life sustainable business setting.

3. Enable students to reach a deep understanding of diverse entrepreneurship/business tools/techniques for internal/external analysis and efficiently apply them in practice in the sustainable venture creation context.

4. Enhance students’ entrepreneurial/enterprising behaviours, skills, attributes and therefore widen their career choices related to sustainable entrepreneurship.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module intents to cover the following key themes:

• Sustainable Ventures: Characteristics, Challenges and Opportunities related to Entrepreneurial Ideas

Problems and Solutions
• Ideation Process and Market Trends/Gap Identification
• Market, Social, and Environmental Problems
• De-Risking via Market Research
• Internal (i.e. Personas and Market Segmentation) and External Stakeholders (i.e. Competitors)
• Strategic Analysis (Internal-External Analysis) and Tools/Techniques

Sustainable Value
• Social and Environmental Value and Impact
• Value Proposition Canvas (VPC)
• Triple Business Model Canvas (BMC)
• Business Planning
• Lean Start up and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Canvas

Resourcing
• Human Capital (Employees and Entrepreneurial Teams)
• Social Capital (Networks)
• Financial Capital (Funding and Financial Analysis)

Communicating
• Entrepreneurial Marketing
• Pitching for Investment

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture102:0020:00PIP Lectures
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion166:0066:00N/A
Guided Independent StudyDirected research and reading166:0066:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesWorkshops72:0014:00PIP Workshops
Guided Independent StudyIndependent study132:0032:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesScheduled on-line contact time21:002:00Pre-Assessment Clinics and Drop in Q/A
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The module adopts an interactive learning approach based on an enterprising mode. Lectures introduce theory while incorporating student-centred activities. Workshops are based on experiential learning and learning by doing. Students learn:

1. About Entrepreneurship (Lectures) by getting introduced to the theoretical lenses and tools/techniques related to Sustainable Venture Creation.

2. For Entrepreneurship (Lectures/Workshops) by getting familiar with real life examples/case studies and external professionals within the Sustainable Venture Creation context.

3. Through Entrepreneurship (Workshops) by actively engaging in the Ideation, Planning, De-risking and Evaluation process regarding launching a new sustainable venture.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Portfolio1M50Individual Based Sustainable Entrepreneurial Idea & Value Proposition Portfolio (1,500 words)
Portfolio2M50Group Based Sustainable Business Plan Portfolio (3,500 words)
Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Description Semester When Set Comment
Portfolio1MSustainable Entrepreneurial Idea and Value Proposition Evaluation Workshops – Guidance and Feedback based on progress
Portfolio2MSustainable Business Plan Evaluation Workshops – Guidance and Feedback based on progress
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

In the assessments students shall demonstrate understanding the key requirements of a sustainable venture creation process by evaluating the role of sustainability, planning and entrepreneurial/enterprising skills. The assessments allow students to provide evidence regarding their ability to engage in strategic planning and decision making while simultaneously consider sustainability implications of the proposed entrepreneurial idea.

In semester 1, students will work individually on identifying an entrepreneurial idea and determining its value by presenting and reflecting on the value proposition canvas. The Individual Based Sustainable Entrepreneurial Idea & Value Proposition Portfolio comprises of two components
1. Poster - Entrepreneurial Idea and Value Proposition (VPC)
2. Essay – Critical Evaluation of the entrepreneurial idea based on market research and its value towards Sustainability

In semester 2, students will work in entrepreneurial teams by extending one of the entrepreneurial ideas that has been voted as the preferred idea from semester 1 in a real-life Plan/Pitch accompanied by the relevant information. The Group Based Sustainable Business Plan Portfolio comprises of four components
1. Presentation - Pitching for Investment (BMC and Strategic Analysis)
2. Essay - Critical Evaluation of the entrepreneurial idea based on market research and its role towards Sustainability
3. Essay – Critical Reflection on the Formation of Entrepreneurial Teams and its value on Entrepreneurial Decision Making
4. Peer Assessment

Reading Lists

Timetable