Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Course

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/E_MFEN_SE

Course Objective

L1 Academic and Research Skills: Students are able to understand how entrepreneurship can contribute to sustainable development and are able to analyze sustainable business opportunities and sustainable business models. L2 Bridging theory and practice: Students gain a basic understanding of implementing sustainability considerations into the entrepreneurial process, and are able to translate this knowledge into the development of a sustainable business model. L3 Social Skills: Students are able to work in a small team and further develop their communication skills by orally presenting their sustainable business model. L4 Broadening your Horizon: Students are able to consider environmental implications of a business model and understand how entrepreneurship can contribute to sustainable development. L5 Self-Awareness: Students are able to critically reflect on their individual and team performance during the course, and the sustainable impact they could make as an entrepreneur.

Course Content

This course inspires and enables students to become “sustainable changemakers” by providing them academic knowledge and practical tools for understanding how entrepreneurship can contribute towards sustainable development. It draws on a rapidly emerging body of research and business cases on sustainable entrepreneurship that move beyond viewing entrepreneurship as merely oriented at profit-maximization towards an understanding of entrepreneurship as a vehicle for tackling the world’s existential sustainability threats. Indeed, solving the sustainability challenges we are confronted with in the 21st century (as captured by the UN Sustainable Development Goals) requires an ongoing stream of new, sustainable entrepreneurial initiatives. In this course, students will learn about the needs and motivations for sustainable entepreneurship, the role of system thinking in addressing sustainability issues, and different types of sustainable business models, including circular business models. Specifically, students will learn about how market imperfections create new sustainable business opportunities and are taught techniques and methods for evaluating sustainable business opportunities, designing holistic sustainable business models, and presenting professionally and convincingly to different audiences. The course combines interactive lectures and practical assignments that challenge students to consider how they can personally identify and offer new and creative insights into solving sustainable development challenges through entrepreneurial practices. To appreciate sustainable entrepreneurship in practice, examples and case studies from selected industries (e.g., food and tools) will be interwoven throughout the course. Furthermore, within the setting of a course group project, students can work on developing their own sustainable business ventures and participate in the competition Seizmic Awards.

Teaching Methods

Lectures (2 hours weekly) and tutorials (4 hours weekly)

Method of Assessment

Assessment is based upon group assignments, individual assignments and an exam.

Literature

Selection of articles and cases to be announced on canvas

Target Audience

Students from the minor Entrepreneurship
Academic year1/09/2431/08/25
Course level6.00 EC

Language of Tuition

  • English

Study type

  • Bachelor