Course summary
Are you ready to unlock your potential to create, innovate and bring business ideas to life? This exciting degree is designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge, ability and commercial insight to take concepts from inception to implementation, turning ideas into new products or services in today’s fast-paced world of business.
What better way to develop your entrepreneurial skills than to learn from the people who’ve done it successfully – from the likes of Dragons Den’s Levi Roots or Founder/Chairman of State of Flux Alan Day, to name just two of our key supporters. They and others regularly contribute to the programme through guest lectures or real projects, which have previously included creating a business concept using market intelligence from Mintel and devising a strategy to expand the customer base software for State of Flux, a global procurement and supply chain consultancy.
You’ll be taught by staff who have established or run their own businesses, and bring professional experience in marketing, IT, retail, project management, talent development, leadership and management. They have worked in various roles for Cable and Wireless, Coca-Cola, Capital Be, the NHS, Pendragon (subsidiary of Jaguar Cars), Visa International and IBM, to name just a few.
Course content is designed to provide you with an understanding of the theories and practices of entrepreneurship; the factors that influence success or failure from the role of the market to creativity, innovation and knowledge.
In addition, you’ll gain a broad-based understanding of business management and essential knowledge of accounting, risk management, data analysis, marketing, HR, supply chain and business ethics. This will prepare you to take the lead on product and business development either in your own business or for existing small, medium or large employers all over the world.
Our graduates have gone on to work as transformation analysts, business growth strategists and managing directors, while others are responsible for establishing a range of highly successful businesses, including Serena Sartorial, which provides bespoke Italian fashion. Some, like Andreas Tassitro for example, have gone on to become serial entrepreneurs. Founder and the first President of the University’s Entrepreneurial Society, Andreas started the Green Van Company in Switzerland whilst studying and is now Founder and CEO at Foodetective.
Top reasons to study with us
- Practical teaching experience means you’ll relate your learning to the real world from the start tackling real-life projects: past students devised a social media strategy for Dryden Estates, which provides rentals, refurbishment and cleaning services
- Student-run Entrepreneurial Society is one of London’s largest university societies and regularly provides workshops and invites industry leaders to share their experiences of ‘How it all started’
- Our Creative Enterprise Centre (CEC) delivers a dynamic award-nominated programme of events, workshops, competitions and one-to-one guidance
- Employability embedded across the curriculum, with dedicated specialist modules at every level
- Follow in the footsteps of graduates who’ve already set up successful commercial ventures, including Yull Shoes UK, OneofOne, Exposed Media and Zebra-Ldn
- Taught by staff who have created or managed companies ranging from full-service marketing consultancies to personal and professional development, a tourism company and floristry
- Guest lectures from industry practitioners have previously included speakers from the Guild of Entrepreneurs, Grant Thornton, Mintel, Coca Cola and LinkedIn
Course structure
This degree combines general business knowledge with key theories and concepts in entrepreneurship, enterprise and innovation. You’ll consider how organisations function and the available routes to new venture creation in different circumstances, such as small businesses, family businesses, not-for-profit organisations and large established corporations. You’ll also gain a solid understanding of areas such as managing people, operations, logistics, marketing and business ethics. In each year of study, you will take a combination of core and optional modules which cover specialisms such as entrepreneurial practice or social media for business, for example.
The following subjects are indicative of what you will study on this course.
| Year 1 | You are introduced to the functions of business organisations, the broader business environment, and key management skills and competencies, including information gathering and analysis, accounting, marketing and organisational behaviour. We consider business organisations – their purposes, structures and governance in a global context, together with cultural differences and ethical constraints. You’ll learn about basic management accounting concepts and deepen your understanding of company financial information, in particular how this information gets reported and analysed. Drawing on real-life data from FAME, you’ll be tasked with analysing the financial performance of an organisation of your choice. Subjects of study include: - Global Business Environment
- Business Analytics
- Fundamentals of Organisational Behaviour
- Accounting and Finance Fundamentals
- Marketing for Entrepreneurs
You will also have the opportunity to take an option module that broadens your skills or helps you gain more in-depth knowledge of your specialist area. Your option module may be a foreign language. Credit Level 4 |
| Year 2 | You will explore idea generation, develop your presentation skills and learn about marketing, finance and operations for small businesses. As part of The New Venture Creation module, you will come up with an idea, prepare a business plan and then pitch to a panel. You also have the chance to take the Entrepreneurial Practice module that requires you to work with a team to raise money for a charity through a Crowd Funding campaign. If you choose to study Project Management, you’ll examine the process of managing a project, evaluating the role of individuals in a company and how this can be used to plan a business better. Subjects of study include: - Digital Business and Operations Management
- Managing and Leading People
- Management Decision Making
- New Venture Creation
You can also choose two options from: Entrepreneurial Practice, Project Management, or other areas of business. You will also have the opportunity to study a module from other parts of the University, including a foreign language. Credit Level 5 |
| Placement year | Optional work placement/study abroad yearBetween Year 2 and Year 3, you can take an optional work placement or study abroad year. The work placement year is a one-year full-time business work placement. Past students have completed placements in a variety of SMEs and prestigious organisations, including Barclays Bank, British Airways, Disney UK, IBM and the NHS. The study abroad years allows you to follow a programme of study at one of our partner institutions, giving you the opportunity to experiment life in another country and learn Business from a different cultural viewpoint. You can also choose to split your year abroad into a first semester exchange and a second semester work placement, both conducted overseas. |
| Year 3 | We focus on how to commercialise an enterprise; this involves undertaking research to back up your ideas and developing a viable business model and working on developing a minimum viable product. We’ll look in-depth at current themes in entrepreneurship, such as the entrepreneurial mindset, family businesses and artificial intelligence. You’ll also explore the process of working in a team, applying personal and professional responsibility. Your studies culminate with the Global Strategic Management module, designed to simulate as closely as possible the nature of strategic decision-making in the management of a commercial organisation. Businesses like OneofOne, Serena Sartorial and Yull Shoes were all initiated by our students. They have also developed businesses in consulting, IT, clothing, food and shoes. Subjects of study include: - Strategic Perspectives
- Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship
- Leadership and Professional Practice
- Commercialising an Enterprise
You can also choose two options from: Innovative Consultancy Solutions, Intrapreneurship and Business Development, Social Media for Business, or other areas of business. You have the opportunity of studying one module from across the University, including a foreign language. Credit Level 6 |
Our emphasis on learning through practice means that you will graduate with the breadth of knowledge and capabilities to respond proactively and creatively to contemporary business issues and challenges. Throughout the course, you’ll also develop a range of transferable skills highly prized by employers, such as critical evaluation, self-direction, professional presentation, team working, leadership, communication and problem-solving.
This course is designed to prepare you to become a business leader, an entrepreneur or seek employment in SMEs, blue-chip organisations, the public, private or third sector. Possible areas of work include graduate training schemes, financial services, sales and marketing, and management consultancy. You will graduate with knowledge and professional skills, and a heightened sense of commercial awareness that will be immediately transferable in a business environment. Many of our students go on to postgraduate study here and at a range of other universities.
The University's Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.
