ENTR 400 Business Skills and EntrepreneurshipMEF UniversityDegree Programs Computer EngineeringGeneral Information For StudentsDiploma SupplementErasmus Policy Statement
Computer Engineering
Bachelor Length of the Programme: 4 Number of Credits: 240 TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF: Level 6

Ders Genel Tanıtım Bilgileri

School/Faculty/Institute Faculty of Engineering
Course Code ENTR 400
Course Title in English Business Skills and Entrepreneurship
Course Title in Turkish İşletme Becerileri ve Girişimcilik
Language of Instruction EN
Type of Course Flipped Classroom
Level of Course Introductory
Semester Fall
Contact Hours per Week
Lecture: 3 Recitation: None Lab: None Other: None
Estimated Student Workload 124 hours per semester
Number of Credits 5 ECTS
Grading Mode Standard Letter Grade
Pre-requisites None
Expected Prior Knowledge None
Co-requisites None
Registration Restrictions Only Undergraduate Students
Overall Educational Objective To learn the main topics related with entrepreneurship, to form a knowledge base about founding a new venture, to think about, discuss and present one’s own start-up ideas in the classroom environment.
Course Description The course mainly focuses on introducing the students with the experience of creating and growing new ventures as well as finding creative ways to start ups’ challenges, by analyzing real life examples and meeting with start-up founders in person. Throughout the course, the students will be working individually or in groups on "how to start a start-up from scratch” by focusing on their own ideas of a new product, service or process and will learn to present their start up ideas by using a business model canvas. At the end of the semester, they will make presentations for pitching those ideas in the classroom. As entrepreneurship is a career opportunity for students coming from a broad range of disciplines, the course will not be limited to students of Business and Economics only. Instead, the students with the basic knowledge on business related concepts will be able to attend the course.
Course Description in Turkish Bu ders esas olarak öğrencilerin yeni girişim yaratma ve büyütme deneyimlerine odaklı olarak tasarlanmıştır. Ayrıca, ders içeriğinde yeni girişimlerin hayatta kalma ve büyüme yolunda karşılaştıkları problemler de gerçek hayattaki örnekler ışığında detaylı olarak incelenecektir. Dönem boyunca öğrenciler, “Bir girişim fikri ilk adımından itibaren nasıl bulunur ve geliştirilir?” sorusuna, kendi ürün, hizmet veya süreç yaratımı ile ilgili yeni girişim fikirlerini mercek altına alınarak yanıt arayacaklardır. Bu noktada, öğrenciler tarafından bulunacak yaratıcı girişim fikirleri, iş modeli kanvası kullanılarak sınıfta sunulacaktır. Girişimcilik kariyerine özellikle son yıllarda artan oranlarda her disiplinden öğrencinin ilgi göstermesinden dolayı, sadece işletme veya ekonomi alanindan değil, genel işletme kavramlarına hakim olan farklı disiplinlerden öğrenciler de katılabileceklerdir.

Course Learning Outcomes and Competences

Upon successful completion of the course, the learner is expected to be able to:
1) Explain an organization’s business model from market
2) Apply fundamental business concepts to analyze a company
3) Apply principles of customer development to startup ideas
4) Design a prototype from scratch using relevant tools in communicating vision/value proposition to customers and investors
5) Organize and deliver effective written and verbal communications
Program Learning Outcomes/Course Learning Outcomes 1 2 3 4 5
1) An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
2) An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
3) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
4) An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
5) An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
6) An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
7) An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Relation to Program Outcomes and Competences

N None S Supportive H Highly Related
     
Program Outcomes and Competences Level Assessed by
1) An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics N
2) An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors N
3) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences S Presentation
4) An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts H Exam,HW,Participation,Project
5) An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives N Exam,HW,Project
6) An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions N
7) An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies. N
Prepared by and Date BERK KÜÇÜKALTAN , May 2018
Course Coordinator MEHMET FEVZİ ÜNAL
Semester Fall
Name of Instructor Assoc. Prof. Dr. BERK KÜÇÜKALTAN

Course Contents

Week Subject
1) Lecture: Introduction to the course Workshop: New Business Model Generation
2) Workshop: Ideation
3) Workshop: Primary Market Research
4) Project Presentation : Problem Validation Lecture: Product Development - Use Case definition
5) Lecture: Experiment Design Workshop: Product Development - High Level Product Specification
6) Workshop: Competitive Strategy Development
7) Lecture: Sales and Distribution Guest Speakers (Founder)
8) Lecture: Revenue Models and pricing Lecture: Finance for Entrepreneurs
9) Lecture: Finance for Entrepreneurs Guest Speaker (Founder)
10) Midterm
11) Project Presentation: Solution Validation Lecture: Fundraising For Startups
12) Lecture: Investor Pitch Deck Guest Speakers (Angel Investor and Venture Capitalist)
13) Lecture: Metrics for Startups Guest Speaker (Founder
14) Lecture: Managing Startup
15) Presentation period
16) Presentation Period
Required/Recommended ReadingsThe reading materials (notes, files, etc.) for each session will be uploaded to blackboard. The information about accessing materials with copyrights will be provided by the instructor. Main Sources (used- to a large extent):  Bruce R. Barringer and R. Duane Ireland (2019). Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures, Global Edition, 6th Edition: Pearson  David, F.R. & David, F. D. (2017). Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts and Cases. (16th Edition). Pearson.  Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., & Hoskisson, R.E. (2017). Strategic Management: Competitiveness & Globalization: Concepts and Cases. (12E). Cengage Learning.  Rothaermel, F. T. (2017). Strategic Management. (3e). McGraw-Hill Education.  Bettina Fuhrmann (2019). Introduction to Business and Economics. WU Bachelor Program Business and Economics – Study Material for the Entrance Exam. Additional recommended readings:  Lawrance J. Gitman, Carl McDaniel, Amit Shah, Monique Reece, Linda Koffel, Bethann Talsma, James C. Hyatt (2018). Introduction to Business. Rice University, Texas: OpenStax  Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D., Hoffman, A. N., & Bamford, C. E. (2018). Strategic Management and Business Policy: Globalisation, Innovation and Sustainability. (15th Edition). Pearson.  Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2011). Aligning profit and purpose through business model innovation. Responsible management practices for the 21st century, 61-75.  Antonia Arahova (2016). “Library leader: a lonely rider or a team inspirator? The X factor”  Simon Stockley. Is your idea an opportunity? Cambridge Judge Business School. Lecture Notes  http://download.nos.org/srsec319new/319EL9.pdf  https://www.dynamicbusinessplan.com/entrepreneurship-power-point-slides  https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/  https://www.slideshare.net/qilaroslan1/profit-impact-of-market-strategiespims  https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/research/centres/accelerat e-cambridge/downloads/evaluating-and-developing-your-business-model.pdf
Teaching MethodsAs in all MEF courses, teaching methods and strategies are selected to create a democratic learning community in which you will learn from one another, from inquiry, research and practice. Every member of the class is expected to freely share her/his knowledge, ideas and questions with the group without any concern. Throughout the course, experiential, constructivist, research-based and reflective teaching strategies are used. In all kinds of teaching and learning activities, student participation, active learning and learning by doing are essential. In this course, practical learning methods and strategies will be dominant in shapes of interactive studies, discussions, individual or group presentations and key-note speaker lectures in order to enhance the understanding and application of the entrepreneurial activities.
Homework and ProjectsMidterm will be on interpreting terms of business & management and characteristics of entrepreneurs, formulating the feasibility analysis and a business model, comprehending the culture, exploring external and internal environment, designing vision and mission statements, understanding innovation types and the concept of competitiveness. In the midterm, 1 homework (individual) will be assessed based on the students’ efforts and/or submissions and 1 quiz will be conducted. Final will consist of their contributions to class activities/discussions, their attendance scores, their business plans regarding established businesses.
Laboratory WorkNone
Computer UsePersonal Laptops
Other ActivitiesVisiting industry fairs or events where potential customers talk about their problems.
Assessment Methods
Assessment Tools Count Weight
Attendance 1 % 10
Application 1 % 10
Homework Assignments 1 % 0
Presentation 1 % 10
Project 1 % 40
Midterm(s) 1 % 30
Final Examination 1 % 0
TOTAL % 100
Course Administration kucukaltanb@mef.edu.tr

Instructor’s e-mail: berkkucukaltan@trakya.edu.tr Instructor’s office: Only online meetings with prior confirmation. Active participation: In this course, while participation is not required, active participation is key to learning and applying, as for a topic like entrepreneurship, new ideas can be generated through questioning, brain storming and discussion. Most of the classes will be in a workshop style (like startup teams). As final outputs of your workshops are your homework class active student participation and their reflection to their startup idea is key for your learning. The students are all expected to attend all sessions and be in class on time. When they cannot attend due to a sickness (which should require a report from a full facility hospital), they will inform the instructor by mail. Before the presentations, the group projects have to be submitted as a pdf file (other formats will be announced by the instructor, if required) within a deadline provided by the instructor. Late assignments, missing points from the essential criteria, and bad formats will not get full points. Student feedback and questions are welcome anytime for making the course a highly valuable learning experience. For any course related issues, students are encouraged to visit the instructor during office hours or send e mails. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism: YOK Disciplinary Regulation

ECTS Student Workload Estimation

Activity No/Weeks Hours Calculation
No/Weeks per Semester Preparing for the Activity Spent in the Activity Itself Completing the Activity Requirements
Course Hours 14 2 3 1 84
Presentations / Seminar 1 6 2 8
Project 1 8 10 18
Homework Assignments 1 3 3 2 8
Midterm(s) 1 5 1 6
Total Workload 124
Total Workload/25 5.0
ECTS 5