4 Nations Project (Postgrad)

This international team building project has been developed and delivered since 2016 by academics from partner Universities to allow students from each institution to work together on a virtual entrepreneurial business project.

Outline of Activity

Eligibility: Ulster University Business School Postgraduate students

This international team building project has been developed and delivered since 2016 by academics from partner Universities to allow students from each institution to work together on a virtual entrepreneurial business project. Partner institutions include Kempton (Germany) Lapland (Finland) and American Romanian University.

The project uses design thinking to step each student through each phase of the project. Students from each location are graduates from a variety of undergraduate degree disciplines, for example, the German students are from an engineering background, Finnish students are from a travel and tourism background, Romanian students are from mixed disciplines and the Northern Ireland students are mostly from humanities and social science disciplines including business.  All four nations students must be studying on a ‘masters level’ programme within the university’s business or professional faculties. There are 20 places available for each University.

Ulster University (Northern Ireland)

University of Applied Sciences Kempten (Germany)

Lapland University of Applied Sciences (Finland)

The American Romanian University (Romania)

Learning Outcomes

• Critically evaluate theory and practice regarding marketing, business strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship and apply this to the SDGs
• Critically evaluate the key issues associated with strategy implementation and new business models.
• Demonstrate skills such as systematic information gathering, accuracy, critical reflection on arguments presented, consultation with multiple international sources and detailed referencing.
• Develop international team building and communication skills within a business context.

Assessment Details

The lifecycle of the project begins by giving the students  three x three hour workshops online  to introduce them to design thinking and online collaboration tools.  This is funded by Kempten. Students will be allocated to teams by the team of academics. Following the three workshops the students meet in a virtual setting to  collaborate and develop their ideas. Students can work virtually in their teams using Teams, BBL Collaborate, Google Hang out, WhatsApp or any other social media tools to communicate.

Then in May all of the students will travel to one location, May 2024 the chosen location is Finland, to spend one week developing their ideas and creating a 15 minute Pitch with a one page sales document in the form of an infographic.  At the end of this week the students will pitch their business idea to a panel of business angels from the chosen location and the team of academics.

Students will have developed a business model canvas for their new business idea, a 15minute pitch that includes the presentation of a minimum viable product along with a one page sales infographic.  These will be the output from this Edge activity.

Level of Commitment

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