Seminar "Die Garage"
BOKU (University of
Natural Resources
and Life Sciences)
Department of
Biotechnology
Country:
Austria
Language:
English
Participants' education level:
- Bachelor
- Master
- PhD
In the intensive course "Garage" the students will learn to implement instruments and methods that help discover, evaluate, and realise business ideas. They will have the possibility to bring in their business ideas and develop them in inter-disciplinary teams within a structured process. The teams will be supported in each step by the course instructors and external mentors to transform an initially rough idea into a clear business concept. At the end of the term, the students' start-up teams will present their business ideas in front of potential investors and other experts. The Garage received the "Award for Excellent Teaching 2011" at WU Vienna and stood out due to its highly interdisciplinary setting. Students from different Vienna universities take part in this course (e.g. WU, TU, BOKU). Inter-disciplinary teams consisting of students from diverse fields allow - similar to real start-up situations - various perspectives, skills and competencies to shape the business idea and implementation.
Prerequisites:
No prior knowledge required. However, students should be interested in innovation, entrepreneurship and not be afraid of economics.
Learning Outcomes:
Based on the real-practice situation, students will learn what is necessary to develop and realise a business idea.
After completing this course, students will have the ability to:
- search for, recognise and evaluate innovative business possibilities,
- develop business ideas using appropriate methods and tools,
- identify customers and their needs,
- analyse and assess the environment around a business idea,
- develop sustainable business models,
- apply creativity techniques.
Furthermore, the students will acquire relevant complementary skills:
Project management:- successfully managing innovative (therefore less structured) projects
- reaching decisions under uncertainty managing several different stakeholders at once summarising the most important project results in a business proposal
Team work:
- working in an inter-disciplinary team efficiency through recognising and utilising individual strengths of team members
- dealing with various work methods, opinions and perspectives
Communication:
- lively discussions and interactive workshops structuring complex data (project results), presenting them in writing and orally to various target groups
