The course "Fintech Lab - Design your own start-up" is a cooperation of the Institute for Finance, Banking & Insurance and the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.

The term “FinTech” covers a broad area. On the one hand, the term "FinTech" is used to describe start-ups that are active in the financial services sector. On the other hand, the term "FinTech" refers to a variety of new ideas that improve financial services through the use of new technologies, customer-oriented processes and new business models.

In this course, the participants’ objective is to generate Fintech ideas, to form interdisciplinary teams around these ideas and to develop them from a first flash of inspiration into a business proposal (ie. a very early-stage business plan).

To this end, in a first stage current trends in the Fintech sector (sub-sectors, business models, technologies, etc.) are discussed using concrete examples. These inputs will be complemented by concrete insights from external lecturers and guests. Additionally, the course covers common ideation techniques, start-up methods (such as Business Model Canvas, Lean Start-up Method) and management tools.

In a second stage, students will work on their own ideas. During the business modelling stage, the student-teams receive feedback from expert lecturers Alexander Eisl (CSO Fincredible), Evgeniia Filippova (Start-up expert MCI) and Mariella Schultes (Innovation manager at ÖBB, formerly RWA)

After completing the course, students are able to

• develop business ideas from a first flash of inspiration to a first business proposal.
• analyze business ideas for their strengths, weaknesses, potentials and risks.
• apply their theoretical knowledge of tools and methods for the evaluation of business ideas in practice.
• give an overview of current developments in the FinTech sector and typical characteristics of FinTechs.

In the course, students also learn and train to

• organize and coordinate interdisciplinary teams.
• tackle complex tasks and problems independently.
• develop, present and defend own results/solutions/approaches.
• use presentation media appropriately.

General information with regards to attendance:

Attendance is mandatory for every lecture. This means, that in order to successfully complete the course, you cannot miss more than 20% of the course (4,5 hours in total).

Please note: Normal attendance at WU campus is required to complete this course.

The course follows a practical, problem-based learning approach, consisting of

• theoretical inputs including practical examples on the topics of FinTech and start-up methodology.
• the application of the theoretical course content on self-developed start-up ideas.
• working together in interdisciplinary teams.
• the presentation of the final business proposal at the end of the course.
• In this process, the student teams are supported by the lecturers and receive regular feedback on group as well as individual performance.

Assessment criteria:

• Preparation of a business proposal (interim and final presentation): 50%
• Active class participation: 30%
• Homework "My FinTech Idea" (one-pager): 10%
• Reflection paper (one-pager): 10%
• Peer Ratings: can influence the final grade

Note clef:

• 100% - 90% = very good
• 89% - 80% = good
• 79% - 70% = satisfactory
• 69% - 60% = sufficient
• less than 60% = not sufficient

This course is aimed at students of the SBWL/specialization Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the SBWL/specialization Finance,

1. who are interested in start-ups and in innovations in the financial sector.
2. who would like to work in interdisciplinary teams on ideas in the Fintech area.

Please also note the following information:

• General: The generation of ideas is part of the course. It is therefore not necessary that you already have an idea at the beginning of the course.
• Especially for students of the SBWL E&I: The basic concept of the course is comparable to the project course "Garage". Therefore, in our experience, attendance of both courses is not advisable.

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