Applied Entrepreneurship

This course aims to enable students to understand the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to take action through experiencing the innovation process.

In this course, students will not only learn through case studies and frameworks, but will also engage in numerous exercises and group-work activities. Through these activities, the course aims to foster teamwork, leadership, and the mindset and practical ability to challenge themselves in creating new value.

The language of instruction for this course is Japanese.

Entrepreneurship is often referred to as an entrepreneurial spirit or enterprising spirit. It does not refer only to starting a business, but also to the mindset, ways of thinking, and capabilities required to identify changes in society and industry based on new technologies and knowledge, and to create new value and business opportunities. Based on the fundamental concepts of entrepreneurship, this course develops students’ applied thinking skills for envisioning future social change from a technology-based perspective and identifying business opportunities for new products and services.

Specifically, using the concept of scenario planning, students will consider changes in society and markets five to ten years into the future as multiple possible scenarios, and examine what kinds of value technologies may be able to create within those scenarios. In the course, students will organise the relationships between technology and society, customers, and the competitive environment, while developing business ideas and formulating an implementation plan, namely a business plan, in groups.

As an outcome of this course, students will work in groups to develop a technology-based business idea and submit it to the SBMC, the Shibaura Business Model Competition, which is a mandatory requirement. It is expected that the perspectives and ways of thinking acquired through this course will also be useful for deepening students’ learning in their specialised fields and for making future career choices.

The language of instruction for this course is Japanese.

1. By the end of this course, students will be able to envision future social changes as multiple scenarios based on technology.
2. Students will be able to analyse and organise the relationships among technology, society, customers, and markets in a structured manner.
3. Students will be able to formulate business concepts for new products and services grounded in future scenarios.
4. Students will be able to develop a new business model and submit a proposal to the Shibaura Business Model Competition (SBMC).

Assessment Items

* Engagement with and understanding of the course, including presentations and participation in question-and-answer sessions
* Assignments
* Group activities, including presentation materials, pitches, SBMC submission materials, and other related outputs

Assessment Criteria

* 60 points: The student responds to the requirements of the assignment and reaches the minimum target level.
* 70 points: The student responds appropriately and logically to the requirements of the assignment and meets the target level.
* 80 points or above: The student provides an excellent response that goes beyond the requirements of the assignment and exceeds the target level.
* 90 points or above: The student goes well beyond the requirements of the assignment and significantly exceeds the target level.

Japanese

Textbook:

Hiroyuki Arai, Practical Scenario Planning: Techniques for Creating the Future by Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity, 2021, Japan Management Association Management Center.

Reference Books:

The following books are recommended as reference materials. Other useful books and materials will be introduced during the course as appropriate.

Hitotsubashi University Institute of Innovation Research, Introduction to Innovation Management, New Edition, 2022, Nikkei Publishing Inc.
Tatsuyuki Negoro et al., Business Models, 2021, SB Creative.
Yasumi Kurashima, World-Standard Presentation Techniques for Communicating Logic Clearly, 2014, Kodansha.

Classes will, in principle, be conducted in person.
Students are required to bring a PC and a smartphone to class.
This course is an active-learning-based course and will include a substantial amount of group work and practical exercises. To ensure that all group members can express their opinions with confidence, students should listen actively to one another and should not dismiss or reject others’ comments. Students are also expected to help create a team environment in which members feel comfortable asking questions whenever they do not understand something.
This course also involves learning the basic concepts of business. Before taking the course, students are encouraged to learn about and reflect on what companies are and how business works in society.

There are conditions and rules for taking this course, as well as criteria for earning credits. These will be explained in the first class, so students must attend the first session.

Attendance: Simply attending class will not result in additional marks. Students will be assessed on their participation in class, including active contributions to discussions, asking questions, and engaging in class activities and group work. Late arrivals and absences will have a negative impact on assessment. Marks will also be deducted if students do not follow the conditions and rules for taking the course stated above.

Attendance will be checked using students’ smartphones.

Students who are absent four or more times out of the 14 class sessions, or who fail to submit assignments three or more times, will not pass the course unless they have a valid reason. In cases where there are special circumstances, and only when an application is made in advance and approved by the instructor, on-demand participation may be treated as attendance. However, synchronous online participation cannot be handled in the same way as in-person participation.

• Questions and consultations are welcome as needed. Please contact the professor in charge by e-mail or in person.

Non-regionally-oriented course

• Course that cultivates an ability for utilizing knowledge
• Course that cultivates a basic interpersonal skills
• Course that cultivates a basic self-management skills
• Course that cultivates a basic problem-solving skills

Most classes are interactive

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