BSc Mathematics with Placement Year

The unit examines the ways that entrepreneurs (or intrapraneurs) assess potential business opportunities using a range of simple business tools and models. The unit encourages students to make reasoned business decisions based on evidence available to them that may help them start their own businesses and/or increase their employability.

This unit cannot be studied with MCEL30031.

The unit aims to:
•    To explore the role of entrepreneurs in society
•    To examine the processes involved in taking an idea and developing it into a business proposition
•    To understand the market for a business proposition and how to position the proposition within that market
•    To inspire students to passionately embrace enterprise as an essential component of their development

Expected Outcomes

The unit examines the ways that entrepreneurs (or intrapraneurs) assess potential business opportunities using a range of simple business tools and models. The unit encourages students to make reasoned business decisions based on evidence available to them that may help them start their own businesses. In addition, the course also focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation in a self-employment context, encouraging students to pursue their own paths to work and value creation.  

A range of pertinent skills that are linked to employability: time management, critical thinking, information literacy, and making decisions based on incomplete evidence or information are required.
 

The unit focuses on analysing the steps needed to take an idea and shape it into a viable business proposition. The unit looks specifically at the entrepreneurial process - i.e. how an entrepreneur assesses an opportunity, the resources and the team available to develop a sustainable business strategy.

The importance of entrepreneurship (both economically and socially) is covered and reference is made to enterprise within existing organizations (denoted intrapreneurship).

The following will be covered:

• Enterprise and the Knowledge Economy
• The External Environment
• Opportunity Recognition and Evaluation
• Introduction to Marketing
• Market Research Processes
• Business Strategy
• Business Models
• Social Enterprise
• Entrepreneurs, Resources and Teams 

The unit will be delivered as a series of lectures with case studies and in-class activities for 
students to work on both alone and in small informal groups. 

• Identify the essential links between market requirements and product/service development.
• Demonstrate an understanding of technology transfer processes and mechanisms.
• Review and contrast the various methods by which technology can be commercialised and protected.

• Analyse the competitive environment and market requirements  
• Evaluate the importance of entrepreneurship and the role of enterprise creation in the modern economy.
• Critically evaluate the issues to be considered in founding a business 

• Perform an analysis using a number of information sources.
• Express findings in a reasoned way to build a robust case leading to a logical conclusion.

• Manage personal time resource effectively so as to deliver completed tasks to deadlines.

Formative Assessment
Exam question based on week 2 case study, 500 words

In class activities

Summative Assessment

Exam, 2 hours (100%)  

Core Text: 

• Lowe, R., & Marriott, S. (2012). Enterprise: Entrepreneurship and innovation. Routledge UK

Supplementary Texts:

• Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Regnér, P., Angwin, D., & Scholes, K. (2020). Exploring strategy. Pearson UK.  (older editions are fine)
• Malhotra, N., Nunan, D., & Birks, D. (2017). Marketing research: An applied approach. Pearson UK
• Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40. 

2nd year students are welcome to take this unit.

This unit runs in both semester one and semester two. Please choose only one semester in which you wish to take this unit.

Note: This unit can not be studied with MCEL30031.

For Academic Year 2025/2026

Updated: March 2025

Approved by: March UG Committee