CONCENTRATION CONTENT:

1. NEW VENTURE CREATION SEMINARS ON BUSINESS FUNCTION APPLICATIONS  (6 Credits)

All six one credit modules (organized into 1-3-credit classes) on the application of business functional areas to New Venture Creation are required to be completed.

·        Creativity and Innovation Processes

·        Strategic, Technical and Industry Analysis

·        Project Planning and Management

·        Market Research And Market Profile Analysis

·        Financial Valuation Of New Ventures And Alternative Financing

·        Ethical and Regulatory Issues in New Venture Creation

The modules are designed to be stand-alone modules, which could be delivered separately in Executive Development Programs or delivered in 3-credit collectives for MBA students who need to take courses in a 3-credit framework for reimbursement reasons. Each module will be graded separately. In the event that they are packaged together into a 3-credit course the average grade across the 3 1-credit modules will be assigned to the course.

To accommodate both full and part-time students, 3 modules will be offered in the spring semester of each year and 3 will be offered in the fall semester of each year. We recommend that at least three of the modules be taken prior to the New Venture Creation Project with the remaining modules taken concurrently with the New Venture Creation Project.

The modules will be augmented by guest lectures on topics such as:

• Venture capital, SBIR/STTR grants, Corporate Venture Funds, etc.

• Business/Technology incubators

• Corporate New Venture Funds

2. TECHNICAL DOMAIN SURVEY (3-6 Credits)^[1]

Students will be exposed to various domains of technological development by attending classes offered by the College of B&E jointly with other more technology oriented departments. These courses will be designed around the lectures provided by experts in several contemporary technical domains. This requirement could also be met by taking a survey course in a specific technical domain. Possible domains include but are not limited to:

     · Engineering disciplines: Chemical, Civil and Environmental, Electrical and Computer, Materials Science, Mechanical

    · Bio-Technology: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Biological Sciences, Bioresources Engineering, Marine Studies, Bio Chemistry.

 

3. NEW VENTURE CREATION PROJECT (3-6 Credits)^[2]

Projects provided by university or business community or may be new venture projects created by the student. Projects may be individual or small group depending on the involvement of others outside the program and on project scope. Each project team will have one or more faculty mentors depending on the scope of the project.

New Venture Projects are differentiated from other business consulting or IT projects in that they involve the development of a technological innovation into a new business venture. As such they are typically cross-functional in that multiple business disciplines must be applied. The output of a New Venture Creation Project will typically be a business plan or substantial portions of a business plan with fully documented background research.

The new venture creation project will be a group (or individual in some instances) project focused on some aspect of technical innovation and new venture creation. It is expected that projects will come from one of several sources. These include various departments and institutes on the University of Delaware campus (e.g. engineering departments, bio-technology institute) high growth businesses and startups such as those located at the Delaware Technology Park, or appropriate projects through the SBDC. Individual students may propose their own new venture as a project.

New Venture Creation Projects will be facilitated outside of a formal class structure. This has two advantages. One, the project does not have to conform to the beginning and end of a semester. Projects can begin when they are available and a group of students can be identified to work the project. Projects can be of varied duration depending on scope and the time students have to contribute to the project. Second, projects can have multiple faculty mentors depending on the specific business functions needed to support the project.

The following is a proposed plan for administering New Venture Creation Projects. The Faculty Director for the program will receive project proposals. The Faculty Director^[3] (with input from the core program faculty) will work with the sponsor to specify the project, determine the scope of the project and define the timeframe for project completion. The Faculty Director will match students with projects and form the project team based on project domain, scope and timeframe as well as student interests and preparation. Faculty Mentors^[4] will be matched with projects on the basis of project needs and faculty interest and expertise.

 

4. INTERNATIONAL REQUIREMENT (3 Credits)

The items 2 & 3 above, namely, Technical Domain Survey and New Venture Creation Project jointly may not exceed a maximum of 9 credits. The remaining three (3) credits may be completed by choosing an international elective to complete the international requirement.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] The Technical Domain requirement could be met through graduate courses in any college related to the student’s New Venture Domain interests. These credits may also be satisfied through course taken in the second major of a dual degree program.

[2] Students may elect to take additional Technical Domain Courses and reduce the number of credits for the New Venture Creation Project.

[3] See NVC Program Resources for details regarding the Faculty Director.

[4] See NVC Program Resources for details regarding Faculty Mentors

 

All six one credit modules (organized into 1-3-credit classes) on the application of business functional areas to New Venture Creation are required to be completed.

• Creativity and Innovation Processes
• Strategic, Technical and Industry Analysis
• Project Planning and Management
• Market Research And Market Profile Analysis
• Financial Valuation Of New Ventures And Alternative Financing
• Ethical and Regulatory Issues in New Venture Creation

The modules are designed to be stand-alone modules, which could be delivered separately in Executive Development Programs or delivered in 3-credit collectives for MBA students who need to take courses in a 3-credit framework for reimbursement reasons. Each module will be graded separately. In the event that they are packaged together into a 3-credit course the average grade across the 3 1-credit modules will be assigned to the course.

To accommodate both full and part-time students, 3 modules will be offered in the spring semester of each year and 3 will be offered in the fall semester of each year. We recommend that at least three of the modules be taken prior to the New Venture Creation Project with the remaining modules taken concurrently with the New Venture Creation Project.

The modules will be augmented by guest lectures on topics such as:

• Venture capital, SBIR/STTR grants, Corporate Venture Funds, etc.

• Business/Technology incubators

• Corporate New Venture Funds