6 ECTS credits
174 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4015735ENR for all students in the 1st and 2nd semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester
1st and 2nd semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Enrollment Requirements
Er is een selectieprocedure gekoppeld aan dit opleidingsonderdeel. Contacteer de titularis: thomas.crispeels@vub.be.
Taught in
English
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Business Technology and Operations
Educational team
Thomas Crispeels (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
24 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
150 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

In this course, students will contribute to a concrete 'technological business development project', often emanating from the research labs of the university, and will ideally work in interdisciplinary groups of two to five students. The researchers of these labs are then involved in the coaching of the students. Students can submit their own business development projects. In the beginning of the first semester we will hold a matchmaking event between students and projects.

The work that students will perform depends on the project: opportunity studies, market- and competitive analysis, financial and costing analysis, writing parts of business plan etc. The exact scope of each project is defined in collaboration with the relevant research group and the educational team in the beginning of the first semester.

We implement a structured process to coach the students, including regular plenary sessions (interim sessions) where the different groups present their advances to their colleagues. By the end of the course, the students present a final report to the coaching group.

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : BD Toolkit (slide decks) and video clips
Practical course material (Required) : Project information, provided by the research teams
Additional info

Important: the course is only accessible after agreement by the course titular so we can make sure that all students involved possess prior knowledge in the domain of business and entrepreneurship. Students enrolled in the business engineering programs of VUB comply by default.

This course is part of the EUTOPIA Learning Community on 'Technological Business Development'. A such, students from the EUTOPIA universities can join the course. 

Teaching Methods

- Lecture: collective contact-dependent moments during which the lecturer engages with learning materials
- Seminar, Exercises or Practicals (Practical): collective or individual contact-dependent moments during which the students are guided to actively engage with learning materials
- Independent or External Form of Study (Self): independent study

This description of the teaching methods is indicative, in order to assess the expected study load.

Practical: 24 hours (4 plenary sessions per semester, 3 hours per session)

Self: 150 hours

  • preparation of plenary sessions, incl. reporting and interim meetings with project managers from technological departments, amounting to 3 hours per hour practical: 78 hours (24 x 3 hours)
  • preparation and execution of research activities: 64 hours (8 days of 8 hours)
  • preparation exam (presentation of results): 8 hours (1 day)
Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

This course teaches the student to:

  • provide an independent contribution to the preparation or development of a business strategy. He/she can analyze a problem critically, not blindly applying existing recipes.
  • integrate his/her technological and IT insights into the managerial and functional domains of an enterprise (marketing, human resources, finance...)
  • be able to adequately present verbally and in writing his/her findings and translate these into implications for the business 
  • be able to start up an enterprise individually or in team
  • anticipate on changes in the business environment and in the company structure and can formulate if needed proposed solutions
  • be able to clarify the nature of business problems to colleagues and stimulate them to think along and to formulate solutions
  • communicate well with all departments of the enterprise, especially with those in charge of technological decisions, so that he/she can make decisions with sufficient knowledge

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Practical Exam determines 70% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 30% of the final mark.

Within the Practical Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Presentation final report with a relative weight of 70 which comprises 70% of the final mark.

    Note: Practical arrangements in agreement with students

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Execution of the project with a relative weight of 30 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

    Note: Permanent evaluation by educational team, parameters clearly communicated at beginning of the course

Additional info regarding evaluation

Students are judged on the quality of their activities during the year, on their final report and the presentation of this final report.

Interim sessions are mandatory.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Business Engineering: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Chemical and Materials Engineering: Profile Process Technology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Chemical and Materials Engineering: PR Profile Materials (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Photonics Engineering: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Applied Sciences and Engineering: Applied Computer Science: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)
Master in Applied Sciences and Engineering: Applied Computer Science: Standaard traject
Master of Photonics Engineering: On campus traject
Master of Photonics Engineering: Online/Digital traject
Master of Chemical and Materials Engineering: Profile Materials
Master of Chemical and Materials Engineering: Profile Process Technology
Master of Business Engineering: Business and Technology: Standaard traject