Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Research and innovation (R&I) and new business ideas are the key for a long-term sustained economic growth worldwide, especially in the globalised modern world, where large rates of competitiveness require improving products, services, and processes, taking into account the international perspective to do so.
This course intends to offer an in-depth perspective to the role of R&I and its business-based logic in the modern economies, from 2 main perspectives: (i) understanding the logic of the investment for innovation, especially from a public point of view, and how stakeholders develop their R&I projects; and (ii) turning new and innovative ideas into business opportunities, developing entrepreneurial activities.
The expected students for this course are any motivated international students from different backgrounds (from economics and politics who want to better understand these topics to more science-oriented students who aim at learning about the economic logic of their fields of expertise). No specialised background is required.
Courses generally have little or no prerequisite knowledge required for a given topic, however if students face any doubts, we recommend they contact course professors to clarify.
| Week | Contents | Teaching/learning activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 |
1. Innovation policy and projects 1.1. Introduction to innovation 1.2. R&I projects and their management 1.3. Funding R&I 1.4. Intellectual/Industrial property rights 1.5. Public policies and instruments 1.6. Current trends in R&I |
This part will include, for each topic, 2 hours of theoretical lectures and another 2 hours of applied activities, in a student-based learning methodology where students will actively participate adapting the concepts learnt to their own countries’ contexts (presentations, group activities, debates, etc.). |
| 2-3 |
2. Entrepreneurship 2.1. The entrepreneurial ecosystem 2.2. Understanding the ecosystem 2.3. Entrepreneurship business models 2.4. Corporate entrepreneurship 2.5. Other forms of innovation and entrepreneurship 2.6. Strategic management |
This module combines theoretical explanations and (in class) case studies. In this regard, special emphasis is placed on several well-known European and Catalan companies. Students’ active participation and case discussion play a fundamental role in each session. |
From Monday to Friday.
From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
50%: Individual exam(s) on the course’s contents
50%: Group activity based on designing a business plana round an innovative idea
- Adner, R. (2013). The wide lens: What succesful innovators see that others miss. Portfolio/Penguin (New York, USA).
- World Bank (2010). Innovation policy: A guide for developing countries. Washington DC: The World Bank
- Nooteboom and Stam (eds.) (2008) Mico foundations for innovation policy. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press
- Llerena and Matt (eds.). (2009) Innovation policy in a knowledge-based economy. Strasbourg: Springer
- Ries, E. (2011). The Lean startup. Crown Business (New York, USA).
Ricard Esparza Masana holds a PhD in Business Economic (specialisation in innovation policy) by the Technical University of Catalonia. His research in the field of innovation policy, with a large range of collaborations and contracts with several institutions worldwide, in more than 30 countries in all continents. Within the last 10 years, he has published research articles, a handbook, and several reports and policy briefs on these topics; he has presented in over 30 conferences and seminars; and he has participated in over 15 R&D European and international R&D projects in collaboration with over 100 partners in the EU and worldwide.
- E-mail: ricard.esparza@uab.cat
Andreu Turró is a Serra-Hunter fellow at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) Department of Business. Previously, he worked as an assistant professor at the Utrecht University School of Economics (the Netherlands). He received a Ph.D. (International Doctorate in Entrepreneurship and Management -IDEM) from UAB. He has a double degree in Business Administration and Market Research by the UAB and a Master in Marketing Management by ESADE Business School. His research is focused on the conditioning factors for corporate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial employee activity from a quantitative analysis. He published several academic papers in this research field. Currently he is participating in various Spanish and international projects on this topic.
- E-mail: andreu.turro@uab.cat
- Department: Economics and Economic History and Department of Business