An Entrepreneurship Course is planned during the second year of the Master Program, aimed at empowering entrepreneurship attitude in the Master students.

The course has been developed by the partner CESIE, based on their experience in the field. The program of the entrepreneurship course was fit to the students’ target following a “learning needs assessment survey”. The survey focused on the identification of specific students’ knowledge/skill gaps in the field of entrepreneurship and soft skills and was completed by the first edition students in each partner university through a questionnaire. The survey collected the student’s learning needs and oriented the development of learning material according to the results.

Once developed the course, the teachers of the Chinese HEIs have been trained via a “Train the Trainers” activity. The activity was planned to be held at CESIE’s premises in Palermo in spring 2020 but, due to the Pandemic, it took place online between the end of June and Mid July 2020. The feedback from the involved trainers was also collected to better fit the course material.

The aim of the training is to provide an integrated framework of theoretical knowledge and practical skills of entrepreneurship to graduates in Bio-based Economy master programme, which would allow students to orient themselves better in national and international working environment while incepting and developing enterprises.

The training programme integrates learning material about entrepreneurship, management and teamwork skills, intercultural and linguistic competences, ICT competences and other relevant subjects.

The pre-course survey was submitted to the students of the first BBChina Master Program edition. It was aimed at knowing and evaluate their previous knowledge about the topics of the course about entrepreneurship to be developed so that the module can be as useful as possible for all the students. Given the number and the range of backgrounds of the first edition students, it was considered the results of this population sample as a valid reference also for the incoming years. During the “Train the Trainers” activity, feedback on the course was also collected from the future trainers, feedback aimed to fine-tune the course with their inputs.

The learning material, further modified and updated based on the feedback collected was uploaded on the e-learning platform, ready to be used for the Entrepreneurship Course.

The first edition of the Course was held in the period April-June 2021. At the end of the course, students, in groups as assignment, elaborate a business plan targeting bioeconomy or renewables. They will also get a certificate of participation issued by CESIE.

The course has been developed, under the title “Entrepreneurship Training Course for Beginners”.
It consists of eight different modules properly developed in collaboration with the Chinese Universities, in order to match the needs of the BBChina students based on the results from the learning needs assessment survey, and on the experience of CESIE from similar actions at European level.
The following modules compose the Course:

  • Introduction to the concept of Entrepreneurship
    • Aim: to provide integrated system of theoretical and practical knowledge of entrepreneurship basics, which would allow students to reflect on official European Commission definition of entrepreneurship and to start using entrepreneurial definitions and terminology.
    • Outcomes: the knowledge of the concept of entrepreneurship, applied seeking to evaluate complexly and with systematic approach the factors that determine it. To be familiar with the definition and terminology of entrepreneurship, and to develop critical thinking when analysing concepts.
  • Social Responsibility in Entrepreneurship
    • Aim: to underline the importance of social responsibility amongst future entrepreneurs and prove how business ethics can strengthen the social cohesion of a society which is jeopardized nowadays, as well as to help learners to seize and shape opportunities to respond to environmental and societal challenges and create values for others by transforming ideas into solutions.
    • Outcomes: capability to identify and seize opportunities to create value by exploring the importance of social, cultural and economic landscape, to develop several ideas and opportunities to create value, including better solutions to existing and new challenges, to explore and experiment with innovative approaches, and to combine knowledge and resources to achieve valuable effects.
  • Entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes
    • Aim: to share theoretical information about what attitude and knowledge is needed to endure the entrepreneurial world, along with the main skills and competences needed to help an individual adopt a more entrepreneurial attitude as well as to familiarize with tools which will help on becoming more entrepreneurial.
    • Outcomes: ability to recognize the key points which will help in advancing an entrepreneurial mind-set, knowledge of the necessary tools which will help in gaining a more entrepreneurial attitude, and familiarity with the main skills and competences needed to become more entrepreneurial.
  • Management skills
    • Aim: to introduce, identify and the basic managerial skills, which can support the fulfilment of specific management activities or tasks.
    • Outcomes: to be familiar with the general ideas of management skills, and to be able to identify and analyse which are the managerial skills and how these skills can help an individual to fulfil specific managerial activities.
  • Intercultural, linguistic and ICT skills
    • Aim: to present a variety of aspects by introducing intercultural and linguistic competences which have been identified as contributors and can affect the rise and viability of an enterprise, as well as to provide knowledge about the theoretical background of ICT competences by analysing the digital competences in the dimensions of information, communication content, creation safety, and problem solving.
    • Outcomes: to understand the importance of general linguistic competences, which can set a common basis for cooperation among people, ability to detect the benefits of a sufficient linguistic and cultural knowledge and to recognize the theoretical background of ICT competences, and competences connected to problem solving dimensions.
  • Conceptualizing the project: business concept and canvas
    • Aim: to realise the significance of a clear entrepreneurial concept, to be acquainted with the ‘Business Model Canvas’ and ‘Lean Innovation Canvas’ methodologies, understand their similarities and differences, and to be able to use both Canvas tools.
    • Outcomes: ability to produce an entrepreneurial concept and to choose Business Model canvas or Lean Innovation canvas according to concrete needs and to use it, and knowledge of the importance of the business concept and business model and to know the tools to formalize a business model.
  • Business planning – Tools 4 entrepreneurs
    • Aim: introduce to the step by step pathway for a business idea description, analyse the tools, which support business idea development, guide during the creation of a business plan.
    • Outcomes: the in-depth comprehension of the application of the ‘Business Plan’ methodology and how its application can benefit the development of an enterprise, and the ability to prepare a business plan.
  • Entrepreneurship in Europe and China
    • Aim: to share guidelines about academic entrepreneurship in Europe, so students to discover the entrepreneurial opportunities for innovation, job creation and economic growth between Europe and China while at the same time recognising the value of academic entrepreneurship.
    • Outcomes: ability to recognise the current entrepreneurial activity across Europe and China seeking to identify problems of business management and to form alternatives of problems solutions, to choose the ways of solving business management problems to accomplish raised tasks in different regions. Furthermore, recognise the current academic entrepreneurial activity around the globe as well as to discover opportunities, which would expand education and experience level.