Syllabus

Title
4042 E&I Project 4: Scenario Planning
Instructors
Dr. Sonja Sperber, Florian Peter Nemetz, MSc, MSSc
Type
PI
Weekly hours
2
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
02/14/24 to 02/18/24
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Wednesday 03/13/24 10:00 AM - 06:00 PM D5.1.003
Wednesday 03/20/24 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM D4.0.144
Friday 03/29/24 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM D5.5.019
Friday 04/19/24 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM D5.5.019
Thursday 05/02/24 02:00 PM - 05:00 PM D5.1.004
Friday 05/10/24 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM D5.5.019
Monday 05/13/24 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM D5.5.019
Friday 06/07/24 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM D5.6.019
Wednesday 06/19/24 11:00 AM - 02:00 PM D5.6.019
Friday 06/21/24 05:30 PM - 08:00 PM Extern
Contents

Digitalization is changing the way companies create and capture value across different industries. In media sector and creative industries, for instance, Netflix and Spotify need to come up with new digital products or new strategies that are appealing for customers and are able to compete with future incumbents. Disruption has even affected the pure manufacturing sector with Ford and Toyota competing not with each other but with the larger ecosystem including Google and Uber.

This course won the 2020 award for Innovative Teaching by the WU for its focus on transferrable skills and learning outcomes which were deemed highly relevant for practice

This course is designed to prepare students with fundamental elements of trend analysis and scenario planning. Students will have the opportunity to work on real-world problems of partner companies such as Nokia, Mondi, and A1 and solving them through applying state-of-art methods and techniques. 

Choose this course, if you would like to learn
- to analyze relevant trends for an organization
- to create future scenarios based on key trends
- Come up with solution approaches for future business challenges

In addition, the course allows you
- to work with established companies
- to gain insights from and contacts with these companies
- to combine analytical abilities with creativity

Learning outcomes

In the E&I Scenario Planning: Anticipate Disruption course, students expand their understanding of and ability to apply theories of entrepreneurship and innovation. Students work on a real-world case with a partner company to deepen and broaden their skills. After successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

Project management skills

· Independently structure complex problems.

· Set up and manage innovation projects (addressing problems that are often poorly defined).

· Present group findings in a concise report.

· Manage a team and harness the strengths of every team member for a project.

Communication skills

· Efficiently communicate with team members, partner companies and stakeholders (making appointments, discussions, representation of the institute, etc.)

· Professionally communicate results in oral and written reports.

· Create and deliver professional presentations.

Subject-specific knowledge and its application

      · Effectively gather and filter market data.

· Use scientific (qualitative and quantitative) methods to research and analyze market data in a meaningful way.

· Professionally analyze the target ecosystem and identify relevant future trends.

· Create sophisticated scenarios using scenario planning techniques and the appropriate analytical tools.

· Apply divergent thinking to increase creativity, identify multiple perspectives and arrive at a set goal.

Attendance requirements

As the interaction with other students as well as external stakeholders is an integral part of this course, active participation in-person is important.

Students must attend at least 80% of all classes and events to successfully complete the course. However, due to their importance in reaching the course goals, 100% attendance is required for the kick-off, mid-term and final presentations as well as the E&I Touchdown event. For the kickoff, absences (up to maximum of 1,5h) due to a scheduled written exam at WU can be excused if the course instructors are notified with a proof of examination before the kickoff.

In general, all absences in the course must be notified to the course instructors via email (if possible in advance) and confirmation (for example a medical certificate, or in case of an exam a note confirming the date of the written examination) must be submitted as soon as possible. Absences can result in additional compensation work to ensure the course's learning outcomes.

Teaching/learning method(s)

- 1 day kick-off event with case study work, project selection, partner company meetings, and networking

- Group work on real-world projects with mentoring from course instructors and external coaches

- Workshops and regular coaching as needed for each team

- Mid-term and final presentations with partner company involvement

- Documentation of analyses and results in a final report

- Skill workshops on course content (project and team management, presentations, idea generation)

Assessment

Performance is assessed based on individual as well as group work throughout the semester.

Grading system:

  • 60% Group-based performance
    • 10% Mid-term presentation
    • 10% Mid-term report
    • 15% Final presentation
    • 20% Final report
    • 5% Touchdown (adherance to deadlines, implementation of feedback and quality of pitch)
  • 40% Individual performance
    • 10% Kick-off comprehension test
    • 25% Ongoing participation and project management (presenting and participation during Q&A; contributions in kick-off, coaching and workshops)
    • 5% Reflection task

      Additionally, there will be mid-term and end of term peer ratings of the team members which may result in individual up- or downgrading.

Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

Students enrolled in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Specialization Program.

Please note that course registration is binding. The moment your registration is received, it is regarded as a clear commitment on your part. Students cannot transfer to another course (once the add/drop period is over) with no exceptions, as it would be unfair to other students (who might not have received an acceptance for the course of their choice because of the spot you have registered for). The number of students accepted to the course will only be expanded if there is no space in any other course.

Readings

Please log in with your WU account to use all functionalities of read!t. For off-campus access to our licensed electronic resources, remember to activate your VPN connection connection. In case you encounter any technical problems or have questions regarding read!t, please feel free to contact the library at readinglists@wu.ac.at.

Availability of lecturer(s)

Office hours: by appointment via e-mail to sonja.sperber@wu.ac.at / florian.peter.nemetz@wu.ac.at.

Other

Detailed information regarding dates will be provided during the kick-off on Wednesday, March 13th 2024.

Unit details
Unit Date Contents
1 13.03.2024

Kick-off

Last edited: 2023-11-27



Back