Unit Outline

Entrepreneurship is a way of looking at business that is focused on opportunities, creativity, and innovation. It is also about having a passion for doing the things that are important to you, be they related to business or not. It is about challenge and persistence. It is about the development of an enterprising mindset, from which you can create the opportunities for your satisfaction. To successfully complete this unit, you will be required to contribute (physically, intellectually and emotionally) that may be higher than you have previously made in your past studies. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted, the timid, those who cannot cope with ambiguity or those who want black and white answers. It is for individuals who are self-motivated, resourceful, and persistent. It is for those who have a passion for implementing new ideas, who can learn from failure and bounce back from it, and who are willing to take calculated risks in their entrepreneurial endeavours. In short, it is a process of self-discovery. In this University Connection Program (UCP) unit, you will learn about modern approaches to entrepreneurship, including exploring modules relating to developing an entrepreneurial mindset, using design thinking in business, operating in a lean way and building minimum viable products and learning how to build business models and pitch your ideas to potential investors. You will also have the opportunity to work in a team to develop your own business concept and develop a lean business plan and project pitch; putting the principles you’ve learned in class into practice.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:

1.	Use innovation and entrepreneurship tools, mindsets, and practices to develop innovative product ideas and sustainable business models.
2.	Communicate ideas to a professional audience.

Requisites

REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	ZAA234 and BAA211

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Attendance / engagement expectations

If your unit is offered Online, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, carer responsibilities) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.

About the University Connections Program

The University Connections Program (UCP) allows students to study units, specifically designed by the University for senior secondary learners. The UCP give you an opportunity to extend your learning to new areas not available at your school/college, to experience/build confidence and familiarity with university learning and teaching and to engage with university staff and industry. Most of our units, if successfully completed, will give you credit into a degree such as the Bachelor of Business or similar.

Recognition by TASC

The unit is formally recognised by TASC. Successful completion of this UCP unit will contribute 15 points towards your Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE). A collaboration between the University of Tasmania and the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards & Certification (TASC) allows results from this unit to be eligible for inclusion in the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).Eligible unit results are submitted in early December to TASC for the purposes of scaling and calculation of TES and ATAR. Full UTAS unit internal results will normally be available in late November.

Withdrawal without academic or financial penalty

Students who are enrolled in a unit under the University Connections Program can withdraw at any stage of the course without academic or financial penalty. If you do not pass the unit, you will be withdrawn from the program without penalty or a grade recorded.

Credit into degrees

Successfully completed UCP units may be credited to a relevant degree when the student enrols at the University of Tasmania. Successful completion of this unit can used towards credit into a relevant University of Tasmania College of Business and Economic degree. Students are strongly advised to contact UConnect for information about using credit from UCP units into our different degrees. Phone: call 1300 826 663 to speak with UConnect contact centre staff 8:45am to 5:00pm business days.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule

ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Opportunity Pitch + Workbook	Mid-year	50 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Investor Pitch + Workbook	End of year	50 %	LO1, LO2

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Opportunity Pitch + Workbook

Task Description:

Entrepreneurs are the kinds of people who see problems and recognise them as opportunities. In our module on opportunity recognition, we looked at strategies that entrepreneurs use to identify problems that potential customers have and frame them as opportunities for new products or services.

In this assessment task, you will identify a problem that potential customers have, which you believe could be an exciting opportunity for a new business or social enterprise. For this task, you will not need to focus on a proposed solution, just outline the opportunity itself and why you believe that it may be an idea that is worth pursuing further.

Your video presentation should answer the following questions:

What is the problem that you have identified?
Who has the problem?
Why do you think this problem represents an exciting opportunity?
What is currently being done to solve the problem and what are the limitations of those existing solutions?

This assessment is delivered as a digital workbook that includes a series of activities for you to complete and submit via MyLO alongside your video presentation.

Task Length:

4-minute video presentation + workbook

Due Date:

Mid-year

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)

1	Use design thinking principles and tools to empathise with potential customers and identify new opportunities.	LO1
2	Use opportunity recognition principles and tools to critically evaluate newly identified opportunities.	LO1
3	Use visual aids and verbal communication to present newly identified opportunities to a professional audience.	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Investor Pitch + Workbook

Task Description:

Identifying a new opportunity and coming up with an idea for an innovative product or service is only the first step for an entrepreneur. After that, they need to develop a business model that defines how their newly created organisation will create and capture value. For a socially responsible entrepreneur, this also means evaluating how the resulting business might create positive or negative externalities for the environment or wider community. In addition to building a business model, entrepreneurs also need to be able to pitch their ideas to investors, potential employees, potential customers, and other key stakeholders.

In this assessment task, you will take a new and innovative business opportunity that you have identified and develop a viable and sustainable business model around it. You will do this through a process of iteration, where you make assumptions and validate those assumptions by talking to potential customers and undertaking your own market research. Once your business model has been fully developed, you will formalise your work into an 8-minute investor pitch video, in which you will aim to convince your viewer that your innovative idea is worth investing in.

This assessment is delivered as a digital workbook that includes a series of activities for you to complete and submit via MyLO alongside your video presentation.

Task Length:

8-minute video presentation + workbook

Due Date:

End of year

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)

1	Use business model design principles and tools to create a viable, sustainable, and internally consistent business model for a business idea of your own design.	LO1
2	Create a professional pitch deck that outlines your proposed business model for potential investors.	LO1
3	Use visual aids and verbal communication to pitch an innovative business of your own design to a professional audience.	LO2

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Recommended reading materials

The recommended textbook for this unit is:

Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset (2nd Edition, 2020). Written by Neck, H., Neck, C. and Murray, E.

You can purchase physical and digital copies of the textbook directly via the publisher or through Amazon, Booktopia and other online stores. Please note that this textbook is not required to succeed in this unit, however, you will find it is useful if you are able to access a copy. There are also a range of other recommended readings. You can find details for these recommendations on MyLO.

Other required resources