After completing the course, students will be able to understand basic issues in the following areas, and apply them to real- life, current examples:

- general entrepreneurship and innovation

- the origins and discovery of innovation/opportunities

- the strategic implementation of innovation.

Students will know and understand important approaches, i.e. theories, methods and empirical findings in the areas general entrepreneurship and innovation, the origins and discovery of innovation/opportunities, and the strategic implementation of innovation. Students will be able to structure and solve complex problems in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation using existing theories, methods and empirical findings, as well as to reasonably evaluate existing solutions.

Students will also learn the following skills:

Social skills:

- Participating in different team work settings in order to solve problems/complete tasks Personal skills:

- Analyzing various perspectives of a given situation, for instance a practical innovation challenge, and developing suitable solution strategies

- Independently organizing their time and preparing for class each week Communication skills:

- Presenting and defending findings/solutions/ideas in a factual, logical and structured way

- Demonstrating argumentation skills (both verbally and in writing) Analytical and problem-solving skills:

- Analyzing real, multidimensional issues and developing solutions

- Identifying strengths, weaknesses, potentials, and risks

- Developing solutions and promoting innovation in organizations

By successfully completing the Core Lecture, students will be well prepared for the challenges of the upcoming practical and application- oriented projects in the Specialization’s application-oriented courses.

To complete this course with a positive grade, students must attend 80% of scheduled classes

Lectures and discussions, individual and group work for each module in the reading list, accompanying tutorial.

The assessment is based on multiple parts. Each of these must be completed to achieve a positive final grade. The E&I Welcome Kick-Off counts as the first part of the Core Lecture and must be completed with a positive grade. The points earned at the Kick-Off are counted as “module check points” for the first regular class.

At the beginning of each class, students will be asked to provide a written answer to a knowledge transfer question pertaining to that session. These questions will require independent preparation for each module, based on the slides and the reading list. It will be decided by chance whether this “module check” will have to be done individually or in teams of 3-6 students.

Students also have to pass the final exam (min. 37.5 points) as well as obtain a total of at least 50 points (of a possible 130). In principle, attendance is not mandatory; however, the points for each module can only be obtained when present in class. A special format is available for working students, more details will be provided in the first Core Lecture class.

The final exam is based on the contents of the slides, the reading list, and class discussions held during the semester. The written exam is always held at the end of the semester. Students may repeat the exam at the beginning of the following term. Students can repeat the course to try for a better grade; the second grade will be final.

Admission to the specialization "Entrepreneurship and Innovation"