Outline

Overview

In order to be a successful innovator or entrepreneur, it is necessary to have knowledge of several fundamental business and organizing processes. The most effective way to master the critical skills and concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship is by developing a pitch and a business/social venture plan which simulates, as much as possible, the real world processes of launching a business or social venture. In this unit, students learn how to investigate customer/user needs as well as stakeholder concerns to generate an innovative idea for a start-up or social innovation initiative. Students also participate in a realistic simulation of the creation of a start-up/social innovation initiative, selected from the best student-submitted ideas, and develop these ideas into a responsible, sustainable business model. All students join a team that remains together for the duration of the unit, creating and pitching sections of a business plan as well as drafting the final version. This unit brings together skills acquired across other disciplines of study and requires active participation.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	IBUS2104
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Carlos Vazquez Hernandez, carlos.vazquezhernandez@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Business Plan You will summarise the work done by your Team over 13 weeks on new venture.	15%	Formal exam period	3000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Take home assessment (essay) To discuss the broad implications for an emerging trend for one industry.	25%	Week 04 Due date: 28 Aug 2022 at 23:59	1200 words
Outcomes assessed:
In-semester test (Record+)	Mid-Semester Exam consisting of a mixture of multiple choices and open-ended questions.	25%	Week 08 Due date: 23 Sep 2022 at 13:00	1 hour
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Individual report The objective of this assessment is to create the Persona.	20%	Week 10 Due date: 16 Oct 2022 at 23:59	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Group presentation This is your new venture pitch.	15%	Week 13	Each group will have 5 mins.
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ? = Type B in-semester exam ?

Assessment summary

Take home assignment (essay): Students are asked to pick an emerging sustainability trend (consumer and/or technology), and discuss its broad implications for one industry of your choice. Then, make a prediction about how not addressing that trend might change the industry of your choice 5 years from now, and argue why this is the case. In doing so, address at least 3 concerns resulting from your prediction/the emerging sustainability trend.

Individual report (report): The objective of this assessment is to create the Persona (based on a real person) that might inspire your product and business development in the next phases of the process.

Mid-semester exam: The semester exam consists of multiple choice questions and one long essay question which are designed to test students understanding of key concepts and their applications.

Presentation (video-pitch): The group will need to submit a video pitch. This will serve as the presentation for your business plan.

Business plan: Overall, in the business plan you will summarise the work done by your Team during the course of the semester. You should include the persona's needs, how your proposed solution is going to address the needs, competitors and how your solution is going to be different from their solution, the validation of your solution and importantly, a test you are suggesting to perform next in order to further validate your solution.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75 - 84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Credit	65 - 74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50 - 64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

assessment submitted after the due time and date (or extended due time and date) will incur a late penalty of 5% of the total marks per 24 hour period, or part thereof, late (note that this is applied to the mark gained after the submitted work is marked).

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction and groups	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 02	Entrepreneurial cognition, behaviours, and innovation management	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 03	Understanding user experiences	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 04	Ideation Approaches	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 05	Develop your ideas	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 06	Fitting your ideas	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 07	A market for your ideas	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 09	Build your prototype	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 10	Validate your prototype	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 11	Pilot your prototype	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 12	Launching your new venture	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 13	The pitch	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Identify trends and opportunities in the social, technological and market/business landscapes, including understanding users and formulating new venture ideas that have not been explored before
LO2. Construct a market analysis and assess feasibility of a new venture, and design a new business model
LO3. Discuss what an empathic understanding of users and stakeholder is and apply it to their problem in order to identify new value propositions that satisfy user and stakeholder needs and wants in an ethical and responsible manner
LO4. Discuss and apply cognitive strategies that define the mindset of innovators and entrepreneurs
LO5. Demonstrate proactivity in talking with potential users and stakeholders to understand their needs and then testing your proposed solution

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Adding ULOs and Assessments as endorsed by the UoS Subcommittee.

Additional information

Business School Policies

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

SIEN2001: Validating Ideas and Building Ventures

Semester 2, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect