Creating the future through 'Innovation and Entrepreneurship' – BSNS 5391 commencing August 2011

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Welcome to ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship‘ (Unitec BSNS 5391).

This course introduces you to the systematic processes of innovation management, creativity, new venture creation, and entrepreneurship. These processes are essential for the successful growth and development of a variety of organisational forms including: corporates, small-medium enterprise (SMEs), and start-up ventures. Consequently, this course presumes that the skills of a entrepreneur are required as much within a corporate setting as in a stand-alone start-up venture. Furthermore, this course is ABSOLUTELY NOT about administering a small business.

The course is also unique in helping you identify the strengths and talents that you possess for working within an enterprising team – as innovator, entrepreneur, leader, or team contributor. Consequently, by the course’s conclusion, you will have created a personalised action plan and learning agenda that will guide the progress of your future academic studies and professional development.

Innovators and entrepreneurs imagine and create the future. They create the future by making new things happen. They act and think differently compared with most “normal” people. Sometimes they are the brightest kids at school. They are equally likely to be the “troublemakers” who are invited to leave school as early as the ‘laws of the land’ permit! Until recently, they rarely studied formal courses in entrepreneurship! You will meet many of these kinds of people in this class.

How do the most successful entrepreneurs learn? Many entrepreneurs take great risks: many fail. Reason: they don’t know what they don’t know. However, skilled entrepreneurs with “the right stuff” pursue risky, but well-managed ventures that most “normal” people would avoid. In the long-run, these entrepreneurs succeed. They succeed creating new venture after new venture. In consequence, these ‘serial’ entrepreneurs and innovators “do good” for the world and/or create massive wealth. What is “the right stuff” that entrepreneurs possess? Can you also acquire “the right stuff” – or recognise it in others? These are questions we will explore in this course.

New Zealand’s political and business leaders inform us that our country faces two challenges as a nation to “catch up with Australia by 2025”. First, we must increase our nation’s productivity. Second, we must increase our rate of innovation. Most nations are “running hard in the same race”. Can we ever catch up with the Australians? The Swedish? The Chinese? The Americans? How?

The smartest innovators ask “Can we run in a different race? … a better race? … a race with rules to our advantage?” These radical innovators join new venture teams to make their dream come true. In some cases, these teams may be lead by an entrepreneur.

In many cases, the innovator works within a corporate or not-for-loss enterprise with new venture leaders. For instance, these corporate teams launch new products, new services, expand to new geographic markets, introduce new technological processes or work practices. Consequently, learning how to work with those people who unleash their passion for innovation is an essential requirement in all modern organisations.

To enrol in the course

Visit Unitec’s website, and search for BSNS 5391 here: http://www.unitec.ac.nz

Course tutor

Peter Mellalieu, http://about.me/peter.mellalieu

Related postings about BSNS 5391

Online learning site for BSNS 5391 (Video) – YouTube. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD8TlEhQQC4&feature=youtube_gdata_playerMellalieu, P. J. (2011, July 18).

Course handbook for Unitec BSNS 5391 Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Video). Retrieved July 18, 2011, from http://vimeo.com/26564519

Related articles

• The Art of Small Business Entrepreneurship (businessinsider.com)
• The innovative business (customerthink.com)
• Course Review: Entrepreneurial Intention and New Venture (entrepreneurshiphegfr.wordpress.com)
• Recipe for success (bbc.co.uk)
• Greening your business with Enterprise GreenWorks™ (thedomm.com)
• Malama Solomona presents at Samoa II Conference on Entrepreneurship and Vanuatu (July 2011) (thedomm.com)
• A learning adventure: Exhibit the ‘secrets of success’ of ONE of New Zealand’s top technology companies (pogus.tumblr.com)

Image: Notable writers on the the topic of entrepreneurship. (Ohtamaa). Image via Wikipedia