NIFK18013U Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Volume 2018/2019
Education

MSc Programme in Integrated Food Studies.

Content

The course aims to provide the students with essential skills, knowledge through learning and “doings” related to food innovation and entrepreneurship. Both issues of innovation and entrepreneurship are still relatively new areas of research, but they are subject to a growing amount of literature, which this course will use extensively. As the main themes of the course: innovation and entrepreneurship, is often dealt with interdisciplinary (though provided special attention in business and organizational studies) the literature presented to the students will also reflect this, and should be in alignment with the overall aims of IFS more broadly.

The students will thus receive insights in how to understand and make sense of food innovation in general (also in a historically perspective) through literature as well as by exposing them to experts on the field – both researchers and practitioners.  They will get concrete information on how to approach entrepreneurship and related fields like “intrapreneurship”, and knowledge of the internal workings of a food entrepreneur and how to facilitate start-up environments, as well as being provided tools which should enable them to execute a start-up of their own.

The course should thus provide a relevant framework and learning environment where students can test own ideas or work together with already established food business. These are also present and used in the strategic communication course which should provide for a good broad understanding of their barriers and opportunities for further growth and development, and how innovation can aid the development of an idea or business.

The course should thus not only equip the students to gain more knowledge and understanding of food innovation and entrepreneurship in the abstract, but also provide them with skills and knowledge as how to become an entrepreneur and how to develop ideas into products/services.

This course is designed so as to compliment the other two courses at third semester of the programme in Integrated Food Studies, and the content, partly, influenced by previous experiences from the 3rd semester course strategic communication.

Learning Outcome

After completion of the course it is expected that the student has achieved the following qualifications:

Knowledge and understanding

  • Should have knowledge on different theories on innovation and entrepreneurship.
  • Should have knowledge on social innovation
  • Should demonstrate knowledge on business-models in relation to entrepreneurship
  • Should have knowledge on methods to integrate innovation
  • Should have knowledge about different entrepreneurial cases in the food area

 

Skills

  • Should be able start up or assist a development of a new food company
  • Should be able to analyse, disseminate and understand a business model.
  • Have skills to show advantages and drawbacks related to different innovation strategies

 

Competences

  • Should be able to convert theories about innovation to practice-oriented solutions
  • Should be able to discuss, assess and implement different concretesolutions related to a new idea or food company.

See Absalon for a list of course litterature.

It is recommended that students have knowledge and skills within area of food science.
The course will be an eclectic mix of traditional lectures, (supervised) workshops and field/design trips. The students will from the outset of the course be required to follow an existing food start-up and/or create their own idea/template for one. These cases, the students are to work continuously on through-out the course, and the hope is that they will both provide a real-life venue for the contextualization (and thus understanding) of the presented literature/examples and provide the students with practical hands-on experience in how to built, facilitate or develop a start-up food company or aid/develop innovation for existing organizations and/or businesses.

The teachings at the course will “involve students as co-creators of the classroom in order to promote ownership of the learning process” and the literature selected will also provide approaches and knowledge to this aim.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam Preparation
  • 8
  • Exam Preparation
  • 0,5
  • Exercises
  • 28
  • Field Work
  • 9
  • Lectures
  • 23
  • Preparation
  • 32
  • Seminar
  • 37
  • Total
  • 137,5
Written
Individual
Collective
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)
Credit
5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
The exam is an assessment of a max 3-page (9000 words) written log presenting a business idea. The log is written during the course and submitted at the end.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Several internal examiners.
Re-exam

Similar to ordinary exam. If the ordinary exam is failed, a revised log must be submitted 2 weeks prior to the re-exam.

Criteria for exam assesment

See Learning Outcome.