FIT3134 IT-based Entrepreneurship is an elective unit for third-year undergraduates in the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT). The unit is proposed for introduction in 2010. It is believed that there will be significant demand for this unit, which covers material that is not available in other units at Monash.

This unit will offer FIT students an opportunity to study the basic concepts of entrepreneurship, with a focus on the opportunities and risks of new venture formation and information technology commercialisation. This unit will be co-taught by academic staff from the Monash Asia-Pacific Centre for Science and Wealth Creation.

2/11/2013 -- expand the list of Faculties other than FIT from which students may enrol in this unit providing that they have completed at least 72 credit points and have a Credit average. There is now demonstrated demand for the unit in BusEco, Engineering, and MADA, and probable demand in other faculties as well.

1/10/2013 - Add Engineering to the list of Faculties other than FIT from which students may enrol in this unit providing that they have completed at least 72 points and have a Credit average. It is believed that there is demand for a unit on entrepreneurship among Engineering students. In addition, encouraging Engineering students to enrol in a FIT unit will illustrate and strengthen the connection between the two Faculties.

1/10/2013 -- in several places removed the restriction on the focus of the unit to IT-based entrepreneurship only. Particularly with students from other faculties being encouraged to enrol, this focus is too narrow.

8/7/2013 - Update of learning objectives. Amendment to pre-requisites to indicate completion of at least 72cp is required before enrolling in this unit.

24/4/2013 - These changes are suggested in order to make the unit available to more students in the Faculty of IT and to students in other faculties as well. Experience in 2012 with second-year FIT students showed that they were indistinguishable in terms of performance from third-year students. Students from other faculties would allow teams to have a mix of skills and perspectives, resulting in better learning outcomes. No particular IT background is required for this unit as it is currently being taught. Changes will be effective from Semester 2, 2013.

These changes are suggested based on experience teaching the unit for the first time in semester two 2010, including student feedback on the unit. Changes are relatively minor and few in number. Changes will be effective for Semester Two 2011.

14/05/2014 - Admin update: minor change to learning outcomes (as approved by ADE).

16/05/2014 - reallocate marks for in-term assessment to reflect change in unit presentation format

12/07/2017: Admin - update CE.

03/08/2017: Admin update to Reasons for Change - CE modified Assessment/Summary to include 30 minutes reading and noting time

25/08/2017: To ensure that the unit is viable, and has a wide mix of students, the decision was made to co-teach it with Monash Business School - each Faculty will have their own unit code, but the Unit will be timetabled together and have the same learning outcomes and assessment. It will be co-taught with BEX3411. The unit has been reviewed by Entrepreneurs, Monash Business School and Faculty of IT, and the learning outcomes, synopsis and assessment have been modified. It will be taught at the Clayton and Caulfield campuses. Please note that both lecturers believe that an exam for this unit is not appropriate, and 100% practical assessment is the right mode.

28/08/2017: Admin - update learning outcome number one on behalf of CE.

24/10/2017: Admin - adding reasons for change - CE says the unit is not 4 hours any more. It is run in a flipped mode and has a 2 hour workshop.

12/12/2017: Admin - adding offering in South Africa from 2019.

4/5/2020: As the MSA course 4307 Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences is in teach-out, the MSA offering of this unit has been re-coded to FZA3134 effective Semester 2, 2020. These units will be managed by South Africa and therefore no separate Monatar entries will be made

18/09/2020 Admin: Update to include new assessment and teaching approach fields as per Handbook requirements.

02/01/2021: Admin - removing Reasons for Change information that was added to the wrong unit.

This is an elective unit. Its key objectives are to prepare students so that they will be able to: describe entrepreneurship as both an activity and an outcome using a dual product/market view; understand how innovation contributes value to inventors, investors, and society as a whole; develop a preliminary plan for a proposed new product or service; and conceive of, and present to potential investors, an innovative product or service using both information technology and entrepreneurial best practices, as developed throughout the unit.

Knowledge of entrepreneurship opens up new career opportunities, and it is expected that students will want to be exposed to this topic area. The unit will also reinforce material learned in earlier units, and will give students additional experience with teamwork and collaboration.

At the successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. explain the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship
2. demonstrate entrepreneurial creativity
3. apply the concepts of intellectual property & venture funding to projects
4. conduct basic market research, and analyse the results
5. create and evaluate a value proposition
6. formulate, review and defend a business case
7. devise a pitch and demonstrate pitching competency.

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As the world of complex technology expands with innovation requiring global foundations, the need for dynamic entrepreneurs grows. The framework of this unit will provide students with the practical knowledge, skills and tools to utilise entrepreneurship to quickly and efficiently evaluate entrepreneurial ideas to provide solutions for a market opportunity. This unit will empower students to become the business leaders of the future utilizing practical and logical approaches to bring together entrepreneurship and innovation within a global context.

Technological requirements

Even though this is not a moVE environment unit, students should bring a laptop or similar device to each class session. Students are expected to view videos and review reading material in preparation for class.

On-campus

This unit is co-taught with BEX3411 and must be timetabled at the same time as this unit in each semester at the Caulfield, Clayton and city campuses.

Entrepreneurship itself is an action learning experience, and effective action learners reflect on their experiences to extract useful learning. The lecturer will be a facilitator of learning about entrepreneurship through an enquiry-based learning approach, not the source of all wisdom about entrepreneurship. The unit also depends heavily on peer-assisted learning through group exercises and class discussion. This unit is not a survey of entrepreneurship or an introduction to entrepreneurship. It is more intended as a simulation of real-word entrepreneurship: difficult, chaotic, intense, and rewarding. It should also be fun and inspiring!

In-semester assessment: 100% Students work will be authenticated with class presentations, peer assessment for team based assessment, and supervision of students for team projects.

1. Assignment 1 - Blog 1, Blog 2 and Blog 3: - 15% - ULO: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
2. Assignment 2 - Service Blueprint: - 15% - ULO: 3, 4, 5
3. Assignment 3 - Business Model Canvas and Financial Statements: - 25% - ULO: 1, 2, 5, 6
4. Assignment 4 - Weekly Quizzes: - 10% - ULO: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
5. Assignment 5 - Final Team Venture Pitch, Mentor Evaluation and Peer
6. Evaluation: - 35% - ULO: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The unit requires a two hour timetabled workshop. Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 12 hours per week typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities.

Faculty of Information Technology

This unit is co-taught with BEX3411 - Monash Business School, and must be timetabled at the same time as this unit in each semester at the Caulfield, Clayton and city campuses. The workload for this unit will be shared by Monash Business School and Faculty of IT at the Caulfield and Clayton campuses.

Students must have completed at least 72 credit points.

Helena Nortje