Technology Based Entrepreneurship 

Objectives

Students will understand the interplay between scientific / technological progress and the entrepreneurial mindset. They will learn the differences between science-based and general entrepreneurship; more specifically they will learn about the role of R&D in early-stage, high-growth ventures, as well as about the specificities of product development cycles, investment strategies, intellectual property management, team building, and business model definition in science-based ventures. They will gain a better understanding of “what it takes” to become an entrepreneur in knowledge- and capital-intensive fields. Finally, and in particular due to the hands-on approach of the course, they will be better prepared to become entrepreneurs themselves and to assist scientist-entrepreneurs in their new endeavors.

General characterization

Code

14202

Credits

4

Responsible teacher

Nuno Arantes Oliveira

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - Available soon

Teaching language

Portuguese | English

Prerequisites

Available soon

Bibliography

The course has no mandatory bibliography and the work elements are distributed in each class and adjusted to the class.

Teaching method

The course will follow a hands-on and learning-from-the-example methodology. Although some theory will be given to provide context and structure, most of the teaching will be carried out involving guest entrepreneurs whose cases will be presented, and through intense interplay between students, faculty, and guest lecturers.

Evaluation method

The assessment of this curricular unit is done together with the block of curricular units of the same area of knowledge. This assessment has 3 moments, which together define the final grade of the curricular unit:
•Individual exam with a weighting of 50% of the total mark
•Group work with a weighting of 35% of the total grade value
•Individual reflection-action exercise carried out at the end of the curricular unit, with a weighting of 15%. The set of individual action-reflection exercises is a journaling activity, which will constitute a learning portfolio capable of synthesising the contributions of the Executive Master for that student.

Subject matter

The crucial role of entrepreneurship in modern societies is well understood. However, entrepreneurial projects differ greatly depending on various factors, notably in terms of the added value of the products or services they bring to the market. Many of the most valuable business breakthroughs of the last few decades were brought about by companies built upon cutting-¬edge science and technology. In this course students will be exposed to the specificities of businesses that are born out of research and development (R&D) in areas such as biotech, biomedicine, cleantech, foodtech and nanotech. They will learn how economic value propositions are built in such complex technological fields.

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: