The course International Innovation and Entrepreneurship provides an immersive experience into the world of innovation and strategic financial planning within the context of a real-life investment portfolio. Emphasizing innovation, this course is tailored for students to explore and develop innovative ideas that can significantly contribute to and enhance the value of an investment portfolio. The course combines elements of international business and financial strategy, recognizing the importance of global perspectives in today’s investment decisions. Central to the course is the development of a business plan for the selected innovative ideas. This involves a thorough analysis of market potential, financial viability, risk assessment, and strategic alignment with the portfolio’s goals. Students will be encouraged to think critically about the scalability and sustainability of their ideas, particularly in the context of global markets. Through the creation and presentation of an innovation pitch, students will have the opportunity to engage in a competitive pitch event, where they can challenge one another with their inventive concepts. By the end of this course, students will have gained valuable insights into the process of innovating within investment portfolios, equipped with the skills to identify and capitalize on new opportunities in a constantly evolving global market.

During the course, students

• Study academic theories on International Entrepreneurship, International Business and International Finance
• Apply these theories to a real-life investment portfolio
• Learn to work on interdisciplinary tasks and business cases
• Work in teams to develop business plan for an innovative idea
• Develop their analytical capabilities by developing a business case
• Pitch their entrepreneurial and financial concepts to an international entrepreneur

Attendance of at least 80% of the course sessions is mandatory. Students are required to attend the pitch session and the final presentation session.

The course combines theory on international entrepreneurship and strategy with a real-life project. Teaching is in hybrid form with both presence and online elements. Students work in groups on competitive business plan. Groups receive several coaching sessions with academic supervisors Prof. Jonas Puck and Andrea Vergeiner. The course involves three deliverables

Online multiple choice test:

Task: Online multiple choice test

Individual students will be asked to complete an online multiple choice test based on the International Entrepreneurship Content Session.

Grade Component: 10% (individual grade)

Mid-term pitch presentation:

Task: Innovative idea pitch

Individual students develop an innovative business idea within the strategic guidelines of the presented investment portfolio. This idea needs to be presented in three-minute pitch presentation.

Grade Component: 20% presentation document + 20% pitch presentation (individual grade)

Submission: uploaded in pdf format to Canvas 23:59 on 05.05.2024 (09:00)

Location: WU-Vienna

Setup: 3-minute Pitch presentation + 5 min Q&A

Application for business case teams:

Students have the opportunity to apply for a business case team associated with a selected pitch idea, and will be assigned to one of these teams based on their preference dependent on the demand

Touchdown presentation:

Task: Business Case Pitch

Groups focus on the selected idea and develop a business case based in line with the strategic guidelines of the presented investment portfolio. The business case should include an assessment of risk, return and strategic fit. Groups conduct a thorough analysis of the business model of the investment portfolio. The analysis includes a business model canvas, a customer value proposition, a business case and the go-2-market strategy.

Grade Component: 25% presentation document + 25% presentation (group grade)

Submission: uploaded in pdf format to Canvas by 23.06.2024 (09:00)

Location: Montana Tech Headquarters

Setup: 25-minute Presentations + 20 min Q&A

Grade composition:

• Online multiple choice test   (individual)                10 %
• Mid-term pitch presentation (individual):               40 %
• Touchdown presentation       (group):                     50 %

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Jonas Puck                 Jonas.puck@wu.ac.at

Andrea Vergeiner       Andrea.vergeiner@s.wu.ac.at

Additional Voluntary Literature:

Calvelli and Cannavale (2018) Internationalizing Firms: International strategy, trends and challenges. Springer.

Reuber (2018) International Entrepreneurship - The Pursuit of Opportunities across National Borders – Journal of International Business Studies, Special Collection

Zucchella and Magnani (2016) International Entrepreneurship: Theoretical Foundations and Practices. Springer, 2016.

Fernhaber and Prashantham (2014) The Routledge Companion to International Entrepreneurship

Samli (2009). International Entrepreneurship: Innovative Solutions for a Fragile Planet. Springer-Verlag New York, New York, NY.

Alvarez, Agarwal, and Sorenson (2005) Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research: Interdisciplinary perspectives