The benefits of studying entrepreneurship
Student Michaela Hing wasn’t quite sure what she’d get out of her entrepreneurship course. In this blog, Michaela shares what she learnt and how the lessons go beyond just business skills.
My expectations versus reality
I started my law and commerce degree expecting to end up working in a law firm or corporate. I never considered starting my own business or working for a start-up. After an internship with a corporate firm in my third year of study, I realised that entrepreneurship was becoming a big part of corporate life. When I heard the University had a third-year entrepreneurship course, I had to enrol. The course contains three different elements which give different insights into the world of entrepreneurship.
The theory behind starting your own business
The course breaks down starting a business into 24 main steps. The steps are logical and practical—it’s easy to see how they are applicable to the world outside of the lecture hall. The focus on the product life cycle and how your product or service will be used by customers really stood out, demonstrating how deeply businesses must think about their value proposition.
A group project that runs for the whole course
The group work is great because it lets you apply the theories from class to a practical business of your own creation. I was slightly sceptical about the group work element—as I think most students are—but because this course is so relaxed and allows students to work on things that they’re passionate about, everyone is happy to help. Our business focused on developing a platform for artists and creators to enable them to connect with each other for projects and inspiration.
A series of inspiring guest lecturers
The third element in the course is a series of lectures, with guests who range from entrepreneurs to ex-students who work for start-ups. You get to talk with speakers after their lectures and learn about some interesting and inspiring businesses. Jesse Armstrong from Vaka Interactiv was inspirational—his business focuses on bringing stories to life through digital AI, something I had never thought about before.
You can apply entrepreneurship to anything!
Studying innovation and entrepreneurship is relevant for any profession, regardless of if you want to start a business. The practical application of the coursework allows you to approach tasks in new ways and look at problems from multiple perspectives. The creativity and innovation the course promotes is increasingly valuable in the corporate and public sectors. It a fun, well-organised course which gives students the freedom to really explore their creative side as well as understand the granular concepts that enable businesses to operate. We used Agile and Kanban work methods. Creative thinking was a big part of the structure and projects had an entrepreneurship focus.
I’m now applying the skills I learnt to a project of my own
Next year I am starting a graduate role in a corporate and I’m confident that what I learnt will give me a great foundation to develop from. It’s also given me the inspiration and confidence to start working on a small business project of my own—a podcasting and interview platform to help high schoolers navigate a career path that is right for them.
Want to study entrepreneurship? Add our new Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship to your degree.
Read the orignal post on myView.