In the Vienna Innovation Program students from different countries (especially Europe and the US) have the opportunity to develop business ideas and to learn how to form an idea/technology into a sound business concept. The bases for the creative and analytical problem solving process are innovation search fields from established firms and possibly also startups.

Students will start out with an idea/technology and will merge into a cross-cultural team. Once teams have been built, students are guided step-by-step through the process of developing a rough concept into an attractive business idea. Special emphasis lies on the iterative nature of developing an idea into a business.

To apply for this program please fill in the online application for WU students (http://www.wu.ac.at/io/incoming/vienna-innovation-program-wu/application-wu-students/)and upload all necessary supporting documents (CV and letter of motivation).

The application deadline for WU students is February15, 2016.

All WU applicants who complete the online applicationprocess on time will be informed about the outcome of their application viaemail by February 23, 2016, at the latest and will automatically beregistered for the course in the WU system (course nr. 6093).

In this highly interactive and experientiallearning-based course students learn what it takes to develop a successfulbusiness concept in a "real life" scenario.

In this highly interactive and experientiallearning-based course students learn what it takes to develop a successfulbusiness concept in a "real life" scenario.

After completing the course, students will know howto:

from a content perspective:

• ..search, recognize & assess business opportunities
• ..enrich business ideas by applying appropriate tools & techniques 
• ..discover customers & their needs
• ..evaluate the ecosystem around business ideas
• ..create profitable & sustainable business models
• ..apply creativity techniques in an appropriate way
• ..deal with high-tech

from a  projectmanagement perspective:

• ..structure a fuzzy project & to tackle uncertainty
• ..break down complex tasks into manageable modules
• ..deal with several stakeholders at once
• ..manage different ways to target & to arrive at a decision
• ..nail down the relevant project outcomes in a business proposal

from a communication perspective:

• ..engage in vivid discussions & interactive group sessions
• ...learn how to effectively handle cross-cultural team settings
  
• ..present project outcomes in different environments & for different target groups (e.g. expert jury, team members, etc.)

The course builds on workshop sessions. The workshop sessions include a combination of various learning methods to deliver the different topics and skills to the students and are highly interactive. The workshops will include team work, open class discussions, individual team coachings and team coachings with external experts.

The final grade of the course will depend on:

•    15% in-class contribution and presentations (active listening and discussion in class, pitch presentations, implementing feedback)

•    30% assignments (individual reports, team reports, comfort challenges)

•    25% final report

•    30% final presentation