Frequently Asked Questions
about the Entrepreneurial Foundations course
Q: Is this an elective course?
Yes, this is an elective for most students doing a Masters by course work degree. You may need to check with your Program Director if you can take this course.
Q: What is the fee for this course?
This is a standard 4.5 unit course, as far as fees are concerned.
Q: Do I have to enrol on a particular campus?
You can enrol at whichever campus this course is offered.
Q: What are the prerequisites?
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Q: Why would I want to do this course?
Our experience is that we have two different segments of students taking this course. One segment is very interested in the topic, wants to know about entrepreneurship and innovation, and perhaps wants to complete an entrepreneurship and innovation stream. If you are in this group, you will find that this is a challenging course that gives you a great deal of knowledge and insights that will help you to either start your own venture, or to be entrepreneurial in an existing business. You will find that this is a great preparation for working in the small-business or entrepreneurial business environment.
The next segment includes students who simply want to do an elective so that they can quickly complete the requirements for their degree. If you are in this group, you may find that this course is more challenging than you expect - it is a standard university course that requires about 120 hours of your time, and it cannot be completed successfully simply by coming along to a few lectures. This is a course that offers a great deal of benefit, but you must do your part by putting time and effort into the coursework, and by working on the project that is a central part of this course. You may find that this course will help you to integrate knowledge across different study areas, and may give you ideas about how to apply your knowledge in an innovative and entrepreneurial way.
Q: What if I am attending another university?
If you are enrolled in another university and you have space in your degree for an elective course, then you can apply through your own department to take this course as a cross-institutional transfer student. You will also need to get the form signed by one of our administrative staff - visit the School of Management office, which is on the ground level of the Elton Mayo Building at the corner of George Street and North Terrace, City West Campus.
Q: What if I don't have room in my degree, or have already completed my degree?
If you do not have room in your degree for an elective, you can apply to attend this course as an audit student, but there is a fee attached. UniSA Campus Central (8302 0511) can provide information about this option and the fees.
Q: Is this course offered externally?
This course is offered face-to-face, as well as externally or online. However, some external students take this intensive course by coming to Adelaide for the duration of the lecture/seminar sessions,.
Q: How can the course content be covered in three days?
See the schedule for the course. The three days are taken up with lecture/seminar sessions, and these are followed by the equivalent of more than two full days of workshop sessions where you can get support from the lecturer or tutor for preparing your final report. In this way, you have the equivalent of five full days to cover and explore the course content, and this is the same as the contact hours for a full semester of lecturers and tutorials.
Q: Why don't the workshops appear on the official timetable?
The university system is not really geared to present a simple view of the timetable for an intensive course. Including the optional workshops would make the timetable section of the official home page confusing, and would cause timetable conflicts that prevent students from enrolling. That is why we include the note "IMPORTANT: See timetable details at www.unisa.edu.au/cde/" on the timetable page.
Q: How much work does this course involve?
The 'rule of thumb' for business courses is that you spend 2 hours of your own time on assignments, , workshop preparation and self-directed learning for every contact hour. This course is about 40 contact hours (including lecture/seminar and workshop sessions). This means that we expect that you will spend about 120 hours of your own time in attending lecture/seminar sessions and workshops, as well as working on your assignment, developing your business idea and writing your feasibility report. The same time requirement applies to students who are taking the course externally.
CDE staff have taught this course a number of times, and we have observed that students who are well organised seem to have few problems.
Q. How do postgraduate courses differ from courses at the undergraduate level?
Although the course schedule and list of topics may look similar for postgraduate and undergraduate courses, there are significant differences in many aspects of the course, for example, the assumptions about the students, the teaching approach used, the objectives of the course, and the assessment. Check the separate page that outlines these differences.
Q. Are course materials provided?
You receive a printed study guide of about 200 pages. This includes the course outline, copies of lecture presentations and a template for each class exercise. You will also have access to the course web site that includes supplementary readings and templates and instructions for preparing the feasibility plan.
Q: Will I need to get the textbook?
People sometimes ask if it is worth getting the textbook. As we point out in the first lecture session, our task is to educate as well as to train. This means that we present current thinking in this field, and draw on research findings, as well as materials from a wide range of sources (including academic and business publications). This means that we do not lecture out of a textbook, and we do not necessarily lecture out of the study guide. We expect that you will use the text to supplement the content that is delivered in a lecture/seminar sessions, as it is just not possible to cover all of the relevant material in those sessions. That is why we go to some effort to identify a text that adds value to the course and contributes to your learning and education.
Q: Aren’t entrepreneurs born? How can you teach someone to be entrepreneurial?
If you have an entrepreneurial inclination, this course will give you the knowledge and confidence to identify and evaluate a business opportunity, and how to go through the process to develop this opportunity as a business venture. It will help you to be entrepreneurial when the situation arises. It will also give you the knowledge and confidence to join a team (led by an entrepreneur) to set up a new business venture – either as a new business or within an existing organisation.
UniSA's aim is to offer this type of course to students across the whole university as part of a strategy to become an 'enterprise university'. The purpose is to encourage all students to consider starting their own business after they graduate. That is, the course will open up another career option - for our graduates to become the employers of the future. However, we recognise that not all students will want to start their own business. The purpose of the course is also to give those students an introduction to the entrepreneurial process and a better understanding of what it is like to work in a small business, so that these people will feel more comfortable working in a small or entrepreneurial business after graduation.
Q: How is this course assessed?
There are three components: an individual assignment, a marketing plan, and a presentation of the marketing plan.
The individual assignment
This is worth 30% of the total marks. You will be given the challenge of interviewing an entrepreneur about the activities that they engaged in when they started their new venture. You will then write a report, using one of the frameworks developed in the lecture series. Students find this a very stimulating, motivating and instructive exercise.
The concept report
This accounts for 10% of the total marks for this course, and has a short report summarising key aspects of the business idea , that will be the subject of the feasibility plan (the final report). A template is provided for this purpose.
The feasibility plan
Each person will write an individual feasibility plan for a business idea that they have identified, or for one of the projects recommended by the lecturer. This plan will be is worth 60% the marks of the entire course. You will cover key aspects of this task in your team exercises during the intensive sessions. You are to use the Word document and the Excel spreadsheet (that are provided on the course web site) to develop the report. The written report is to be no longer than 20 pages. The full specification is included on the course website.
Q: What is the screening tool?
The CDE has developed a number of electronic questionnaires that are used to evaluate a wide range of business activities and capabilities, including innovation capability, entrepreneurial orientation, strategy development, opportunity screening, technology screening, and product portfolio management. Students taking this course are given access to a version of the CDE Business Opportunity Screening Tool that allows teams to evaluate business ideas in a professional way.
Q: Where is the course home page?
At www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/courses/course.asp?Course=BUSS3043