Knowledge-Based Entrepreneurship

Educating Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs

The Master programme Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship (KBE) aims to provide students with insightful knowledge about innovation and entrepreneurship as well as the skills to turn such knowledge into practice. The goal is to help the student acquire perspectives, skills and experiences necessary to take on an entrepreneurial role in whatever position she may find herself, preparing students to create value for industry, universities, and society.

Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship educates tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Career opportunities are broad and include positions in large or small firms related to innovation. This may involve identifying and creating new business opportunities in existing firms, diversifying from a current knowledge base. It may also entail the formation and growth of a new firm. In relation to the venture creation process of the education career opportunities also open up. Having pursued the KBE programme students may also be offered to continue their work with the newly established company, moving the company onto the next phase of development.

Other opportunities lies in organizations such as consultancy firms, venture capital organizations or policy units addressing issues of innovation, firm formation, societal impact and economic growth. With a profound theoretical underpinning the education is also suited for students wanting to pursue a research career within the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.

MSc Programme Coordinator: Professor Annika Rickne (on leave, contact Johan Brink)

Administrative Coordinator: Marcus Lange

About the programme

The purpose with the programme is twofold. One goal is to develop and train entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs with strong analytical and creative abilities, and experiences of handling complex knowledge areas and markets. Another aim is to through multidisciplinary teams develop new businesses with high growth potential.

This means that there is an individual learning process for each student to grow abilities of analysis, reflection and entrepreneurship. At the same time the education involves a team formation process, where collaborative skills are practiced and the students various backgrounds enrich the joint learning process.

Having completed the education the student will have a thorough comprehension of various theoretical perspectives to each of the subjects within the area of innovation and entrepreneurship, a range of management tools and have been trained to correctly and creatively apply these in varying circumstances. Students will be able to identify venture opportunities, assess possibilities and problems related to for example science, technology or market development and implement a venture creation process.

A venture creation process

In Knowledge-Based Entrepreneurship the student is guided trough a full venture creation process. During the first year cases and examples of practical implementation are important vehicles to accomplish such learning processes. In the second year of the programme the competencies acquired are implemented in a venture creation project and a Master¿s thesis project. This involves a venture creation process, where the concept is to link a new product or service idea with a team of astute and entrepreneurial students, and provide top quality teaching and coaching throughout the journey. For the duration of a year a new business is developed in the team, continuously supported and tutored by the faculty and business coaches.

During the second year the students work in teams on planning and creating a new venture. The venture projects are carefully selected and could for example be focusing on business ideas where service components are important, environmentally sustainable products or services or ICT-related projects.

The Pedagogy

The programme is based on a belief that profound learning on innovation and entrepreneurship comes about through the combination of theoretically driven knowledge, a versatile toolbox, exposure to good practice, and through on-hands experience from innovation and entrepreneurship processes. This conviction is embedded in the pedagogical approach where these elements are combined in fruitful ways, helping the student to excel. This means that theoretically driven models are combined with action-based learning for a full-fledged educational offer. By applying theoretical tools and acquired skills on both real and simulated problems throughout the programme, the graduated students will be well equipped and experienced when entering the business world or other future job positions. Thus, the pedagogic models are theoretically driven but also reality-based in character. Also, various participants from a broad industry network take part in the education. The linkage to industry ensures the practical orientation of the education, and provides students with continuous training in applying and using theoretical knowledge in practical contexts.

The programme provides an intellectually challenging environment and places high demands on the student¿s ability to organize the work, acquire and absorb large amounts of information, as well as to implement this in constructive manners. The programme has an interdisciplinary set of leading-edge courses, combining theoretical studies with practical realities. As theoretical content is interweaved with tools, practical cases and own implementation the work load is large and the pace is high.

Much work in KBE is done in teams where skills in collaboration and project leadership are practiced. The programme is entirely in English and the student body is international. In building new ventures or novel business areas in companies a variety of disciplines are needed, and during the education students are given the opportunity to work in teams where one has complementary backgrounds. The programme invites students with undergraduate degrees in, for example, economics, business, engineering, natural sciences or law to join in on the learning endeavour. Without sacrificing their professional identities, the multidisciplinary nature of the programme enables the students to get a first-hand experience of how different perspectives and competencies complement and support each other in the complexity of real-life business situations. By increasing the knowledge of the interfaces between these subjects, each student will acquire a more profound understanding for the skills and tools needed in their own profession and the operative ability to use these skills and tools.

In addition to academic courses, parallel and ongoing learning processes are integral to the education. Individual creativity and reflection is encouraged trough a number of vessels. Also, through the venture creation project, management skills are built up. Moreover, creativeness and competence in resource mobilization are core assets acquired through these processes. Owing to the numerous presentations, business reviews, etc., students will repeatedly train their communication proficiency, both in writing and oral presentation.

An integrative, international and interactive approach

Like all Master of Science Programmes of the Graduate School Knowledge-Based Entrepreneurship is characterised by the principles of Integration, Internationalisation and Interaction.

Integration implies an approach across traditional disciplines, a close relation between research and education and the amalgamation of education with practical business-oriented skills, thereby emphasising current world scenarios through case studies, simulations, team effort and field work.

Internationalisation reflects the need to view competition, opportunities and influences in an international global perspective. The aim is to offer the student a truly pluralistic approach to the management and economics of organisations within different countries and cultures. This spirit of diversity is reflected in the courses as well as in the international mix of students, researchers and faculty members.

Interaction symbolises the co-operation between the different departments within the School of Business, Economics and Law, together with the business community as a means of enriching the student´s learning experience.