New Venture Creation and Entrepreneurship

The creation of new ventures is one of the most important economic issues of our time, throughout the world. This course follows a sustainable entrepreneurship approach, dealing with all the economic, social and ecological aspects of new ventures.

WHO SHOULD JOIN?
Students of any discipline – not just Business Studies – who are interested in new venture creation and entrepreneurship. The aim is to form a very diverse international group. If you have doubts about your eligibility for the course, please let us know. Our courses are multi-disciplinary and therefore are open to students with a wide variety of backgrounds.

COURSE CONTENT
Much of the precise content is determined by the students themselves, who are expected to come up with their own business ideas and contributions. After morning lectures on such topics as the start-up process, the business model canvas, entrepreneurial competencies and enterprising behaviour, in the afternoons and evenings you work on practical assignments with support from outside experts. The course ends with the presentation of your assignment report in a Dragons' Den setting. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course, you are:

• Familiar with the latest recent theories in new venture creation.
• Able to start your own enterprise in any national or regional context.

EXCURSIONS
At least one visit to an institution or organization that plays a pivotal role in entrepreneurship in Amsterdam.

COURSE READING
Sørensen, H. E. (2012), Business Development: A Market-Oriented Perspective. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Osterwalder, A., and Y. Pigneur (2010), Business Model Generation. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Other papers will be provided.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE
"The course trains you and helps you understand the different elements and considerations that need to be taken into account when planning and setting up a new business. I really liked the different activities we did in the two weeks. It wasn't just in the classroom, but we were able to visit an organization and in the afternoon we did group work and we had a day off to work on our projects. There was time to engage with material being studied but also to explore the city and learn through hands-on experience." -Augusta Itua