Overview
This elective in-residence in visionary and entrepreneurial thinking will provide the knowledge, tools, and thinking structure required to undertake any kind of activity, but especially entrepreneurial and organizational activities. This exceptional course will project participants into their entrepreneurial future. Participants will learn the characteristics and skills of entrepreneurs and how personal and entrepreneurial visions are formed. They will also learn how to use the Entrepreneurial Decision-Making Cycle developed by the Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship (ACSBE) to align personal and entrepreneurial visions and to follow the subsequent steps of internal and external analysis, appropriate strategic formulation, planning and preparation, and entrepreneurial action. The course lays the foundation for entrepreneurial activities both inside and outside existing organizations.
Outline
During the first three weeks of the course, readings and assignments will provide the background information and preparation for the activities during the in-residence week. The week’s activities will include lecture/discussions, encounters with entrepreneurs, small group exercises, and a major team project. Participants will be expected to submit a final assignment within four weeks following the in-residence week. Note that this elective on entrepreneurship is not the same as the New Venture Development online elective course (ENVD-612), though there are similarities. ENVD-612 focuses on building a business plan to become an entrepreneur/owner of a business, while this course focuses on visionary thinking as well as the early stages in the decision-making process of exploration and evaluation of a potential opportunity. The model is the basis for both understanding entrepreneurs and inventing your own entrepreneurial behaviour and future. This course offers a useful background to those who intend to work on a business plan and those who interact with entrepreneurs but do not plan an entrepreneurial career for themselves. During the in-residence week, students can expect to work all day and some evenings on course work and team projects. Each student is expected to contribute equally to their team’s workload and to class discussions. It is compulsory that students be available to their team and be present for all meals and activities outlined on the program agenda and/or course outline.
Objectives
The main aim of the elective is to provide a dynamic model for understanding and fostering visionary thinking and entrepreneurship. At the end of this in-residence elective you will be able to do the following:
- describe entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship using current knowledge, research, and concepts
- describe the ACSBE Entrepreneurial Decision-Making Cycle
- formulate personal and entrepreneurial visions
- conduct internal and external analysis for a potential new venture
- identify an array of strategic options available to would-be entrepreneurs identify the steps for adequate planning and preparation for a new venture
- project yourself into your entrepreneurial future with success