MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

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Student Insights: Supitchaya Sirithaweesit, Thailand, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship

Do you want to start your own business, join an innovative firm or shape innovation policy? The MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at Alliance MBS will equip you with the relevant skills to succeed. It offers a unique perspective on innovation owing to our expertise in areas such as sustainability, high-tech entrepreneurship, emerging technologies, and policy.  

This MSc can be taken as a one-year full-time course or part-time over two years. 

  • Our modules will help you understand how the innovation process works, how companies organise to take advantage of internal and external sources of innovation, and the challenges of innovation for sustainability.
  • You will gain understanding of new technologies, the new business models they enable, and the challenges and opportunities they create. You will also appreciate the role of location and how innovations emerge in different regions.
  • You will learn how new innovative firms are created and develop practical skills in the application of widely used techniques in entrepreneurship.
  • The MSc focuses on developing analytical and critical skills, research training, personal communication skills and effective team-working, which are useful in a wide range of careers.
  • Throughout the programme, field trips and external speakers provide opportunities to learn best-practice from managers and entrepreneurs.
  • You will be able to conduct your own research on an innovation management and entrepreneurship topic of your choice.

Special features

Students will have the opportunity to participate in an organised visit to Manchester’s digital incubators, to experience real-life applications of innovation management and entrepreneurship concepts covered on the course.  Read about a visit to Manchester Technology Centre .

The programme can be studied part-time over 2 years. Part-time students will normally complete 4 courses in year 1, and 4 courses in year 2. They will write their research dissertation over the summer of year 2. Read about the experience of part-time graduate Iva Dulkova .

Coursework and assessment

Units are typically assessed by a combination of:
  • Written work (essay, report or blog)
  • Presentation
  • Group project assessment
  • Examination

Some blogs written by students have been published on the MIOIR blog .

The last third of the programme is spent researching and writing a dissertation, the choice of topic reflecting the student's interests and the expertise of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIOIR) .

Course unit details

You will study for 180 credits in total.
  • 8 core and optional units = 120 credits
  • Dissertation = 60 credits  
Full-time students will complete four core units in semester 1 that provide theoretical and practical foundations in innovation management and entrepreneurship. In semester 2 students elect three units from the list of optional courses to suit their interests, with options in three core areas:
  • firm innovation and strategy
  • entrepreneurship and business creation, and
  • innovation and society, focussing on e.g. global challenge, regional factors, and emerging technologies. 

Part-time students will complete 2 courses each semester. Over the summer period, you will carry out your Research Dissertation on an innovation management and entrepreneurship topic of your choice. Students’ dissertation topics reflect the diverse interests and expertise of research and teaching staff in the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIOIR) and Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC). There are limited opportunities to undertake a dissertation project related to a new venture/start-up idea, or in collaboration with external partners. 

Recent dissertation project topics include:

  • Business model innovation for sustainability in the fashion industry
  • Studying user involvement in medical device innovation processes in the UK
  • The potential of Fintech as a disruptive innovation in Colombia
  • Understanding women entrepreneurs of Pakistan
  • Value Co-creation in the sharing economy  

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Entrepreneurship, Technology and Society BMAN61001 15 Mandatory
Innovation Management BMAN71471 15 Mandatory
High Tech Entrepreneurship BMAN71721 15 Mandatory
Tools and Methods for Innovation Analysis BMAN71751 15 Mandatory
Research methods and skills BMAN72352 15 Mandatory
Case Studies in Technology Strategy & Innovation Management BMAN62042 15 Optional
Place and innovation, from Silicon Valley to Graphene City BMAN62062 15 Optional
Innovation for Sustainability BMAN70372 15 Optional
Innovation & Strategy BMAN71662 15 Optional
Global challenges, emerging technologies and governance BMAN73952 15 Optional
Business Creation and Development MCEL60032 15 Optional
Developing Enterprising Individuals MCEL60142 15 Optional
Displaying 10 of 12 course units

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Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk