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Entrepreneurship and Management Design and Build: Part 1 - Research

Module description

To be successful in any industry requires a keen awareness of the environmental and commercial landscape in which you operate. In this project you and your team will complete a hands-on design and build project that challenges you to develop, prototype and explore the market for a solution to a current global environmental challenge. This project emphasis the combination of environmental challenges, commercial awareness and the application of sound engineering knowledge. You will have creative freedom and be encouraged to develop innovative engineering solutions to real-world ‘blue earth’ problems and market opportunities. This project will put you and your team in the enviable position of having the time and resources to deploy your creativity and engineering knowledge towards a commercial opportunity related to themes inspired by The Blue Earth Summit. Will your project lead to the next innovation in sport and adventure, identify an opportunity for innovation in our future built environment, perhaps focusing on nature-based solutions, will you develop a method to regenerate our a part of our natural world, develop climate tech to assist in the delivery ow carbon energy or will you identify a market opportunity to assist in the development a truly regenerative ocean economy?

Module aims - intentions of the module

This project will not only focus on technical challenge, of equal importance is identifying a viable environmental and commercial opportunity and strategy to capitalise on it. This project aims to broaden your appreciation for the environmental challenges, research and development realities that all engineering activities must face. In this team focussed project you will need to deploy more than technical engineering knowledge.

Programmes that are accredited by the Engineering Council are required to meet Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP4) Learning Outcomes. The Engineering Council AHEP4 Learning Outcomes are taught and assessed on this module and identified in brackets below.

Discipline and Module Intended Learning Outcomes:

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Identify problems related to climate change (e.g. regeneration of the natural world, protection of the oceans, renewable energy, climate tech etc.) and technically research commercial opportunities to help solve problems (M4)
• 2. Create a team structure, product design specification and develop designs with consideration of user, societal, sustainability, business and customer needs (M5, M7)
• 3. Select, explain and apply appropriate knowledge on materials, manufacturing, equipment and reliability of the developed product and list limitations in the SWOT analysis M13.
• 4. Work effectively in a group, demonstrating good team working and communication skills (M16, M17)
• 5. Condense a large amount of technical information into a compelling and concise form (M17)
• 6. Verbally present information in a confident and professional manner (M17)

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

Syllabus plan

1: Identification and investigation of a blue earth challenge and technical market opportunity - identify an acute need that you and your team have the ability to address:

2: Identification of any existing solutions and their limitations:

3: Identify a differentiating innovation to an existing solution or propose a new solution with an outline scheme design or proposal for innovation:

4: Investigate the potential market and demand for your improved solution through market research:

5: Produce a costed development plan to implement in part two of this project (term 2):

6: Build a case for securing funding to develop the product and bring it to market. Present an outline business case and pitch it to an investor panel.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Reassessment will be to complete a design project based on a design brief that will be provided to students by the module lead. This will be worth 100% of the module and will be assessed by two coursework submissions: coursework 1 and coursework 2 which will assess the same leaning outcomes. For deferred candidates, the mark will be uncapped. For referred candidates, the mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Aulet, B. (2013). Disciplined Entrepreneurship : 24 Steps to a Successful Startup. 1st ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.

• Graham, N. (2020). Project management all-in-one for dummies. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

• Étienne Garbugli (2020). Solving Product. Étienne Garbugli.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE: Entrepreneurship/Management Design and Build Part 1 – Research - ELE page