Course Overview

The course "Academic Entrepreneurship - Preparing PhD Students for an Entrepreneurial Career" is a 2 ECTS course aimed at PhD students and researchers from all research areas. The course is designed to develop an enterprising mindset and understand how innovation works.

Admission Requirements

• Prerequisites: None
• The course is generally open for applicants holding a Master's degree
• If the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available, applicants will be ranked in the following order:
  • 16 seats are reserved for EUGLOH universities
  • PhD students at UiT
  • Participants in the Associate Professor programme at UiT (must hold a Master's degree)
  • Registered PhD students from other Norwegian universities
  • People with a minimum of a Master's degree (or equivalent), who have not been admitted to a PhD programme (i.e., PostDocs)

Course Content

This course supports doctoral candidates across all disciplines to develop an enterprising mindset and understand how innovation works. Entrepreneurship, teamwork, and networking are elements that are increasingly important for PhD candidates who want to succeed in and outside of academia.

Objectives of the Course

Knowledge

• Understanding innovation and its relation to entrepreneurship
• Knowledge about the hypothesis-driven start-up approach
• Fundamental concepts of financial accounting
• Understanding how to start university-based spin-offs and access to funding opportunities

Skills

Course participants will acquire skills in three competencies areas that constitute the foundations of entrepreneurship:

• Ideas and Opportunities
  • Spotting opportunities
  • Creativity
  • Vision
  • Valuing ideas
  • Ethical and sustainable thinking
• Resources
  • Self-awareness and self-efficacy
  • Motivation and perseverance
  • Mobilising resources
  • Financial and economic literacy
  • Mobilising others
• Action
  • Taking the initiative
  • Planning & management
  • Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity, and risk
  • Working with others
  • Learning through experience

General Competence

• Develop an enterprising mind-set, which will allow the participants to create value in any domain and possible value chain (private, public, and third sectors, as well as in any combination of them)
• Can assess the need for, initiate, and practice innovation inside and outside of academia
• Can manage interdisciplinary projects and develop innovative ideas and projects

Teaching Methods

The course will use a combination of lectures, guest lectures from academic entrepreneurs, assignments in smaller groups, and presentations in plenary sessions. There will be an online self-paced module with an assignment that has to be submitted two weeks before the intensive course in Tromsř.

Examination

• Examination: Oral exam and assignment
• Date: Oral exam will be held on the last day of the intensive course
• Weighting: 1/2 for the oral exam and 1/2 for the assignment
• Duration: 30 minutes for the oral exam
• Grade scale: Passed/Not Passed

Coursework Requirements

To take an examination, the student must have passed the following coursework requirements:

• Pre-coursework: Approved not approved
• Participation - in all parts of the course: Approved not approved

More Info About the Coursework Requirements

• Obligatory online videos and text with a short assignment submitted
• Submission of a short essay (max 1 A4 page), addressing general questions about your research background, your motivation & expectations for the course, and any previous experience on entrepreneurship (if applicable)
• Obligatory submission of group pitch idea (up to 5 pages)
• Obligatory online teaching/ seminar session
• Minimum 80% course participation for the intensive course week

More Info About the Assignment

• Submission of the pitch idea before the final pitch
• Oral exam/ final pitch at the last day of the course that is evaluated by an expert panel
• The exam will be assessed as either pass or fail

Re-sit Examination

A re-sit exam will not be held.

University of Tromso: A Summary

---

Overview:

UiT Norges arktiske universitet (University of Tromso) is a public university located in Tromso, Norway. It is known for its focus on Arctic research and education.