Entrepreneurship

Initial situation

The teacher wanted to offer a course that would combine new technologies and the professional economic world. He wanted to include a very strong applied component while integrating intercultural aspects that students will face in the professional world. This course was conceived as an exchange between students who acquire practical knowledge and startups who benefit from “free” consulting.

Project implementation

The teacher contacted many Israeli startups. He then selected a limited number of them and asked about their major difficulties (e.g., how to present their product to sell it). These challenges were submitted to the students who were divided into groups of 3 or 4 according to their interests and skills. The students are thus completely immersed in entrepreneurship, confronted with real business problems.

After 3 preliminary theoretical courses, students communicate with the startup at a distance once or twice a week (via Skype). This will allow them to exchange regularly with the companies to gather information and present the progress of their project. During the whole process, they are supervised by the teacher and a mentor (representative of the professional world present in Geneva).

The students are asked to present the progress of their project and their reflections on it three times during three seminars. This presentation allows them to obtain feedback from the teacher and professionals. The teacher encourages them to be proactive and to take responsibility.

In parallel to the group work with the companies, 3 thematic seminars are also organized. Students will develop their skills in oral presentation (e.g., being able to present their idea in 120 seconds), teamwork (e.g., setting up a good collaboration with their colleagues).

The evaluation consists of a final 20-minute oral presentation and a written report on their project. Finally, a trip is organized during which the students go to Tel Aviv and present their project to the startup, which counts for a major part of their evaluation.

Thoughts and advice

The teacher takes care to choose startups with good listening and communication skills that consider the students trustworthy and with whom they can have a professional relationship. This selection process each year is very time consuming.

Students are generally very motivated by this approach and invest a lot of time and energy in these projects. The theoretical background provided up front is very important before launching the students into group work.

The teacher reports that, first, the students were very surprised by the format of the course, which is unusual in its content, but also in its demand. Traditionally, students know what is expected of them, what the purpose of the course is. In this case the work is never finished, there is no right or wrong answer. This can be worrying for students, but it corresponds to the reality of the professional world.

Significant funding is needed to make such a course possible.

The course could be even more complete if the students came from more diverse backgrounds (e.g., biotechnology, data science).

Student feedback

« I really appreciated the fact that we had professionals in front of us. Having a real case scenario which is actually helpful to real start-ups bring a complete new approach in the Master degree. I have had the chance to extend my network with professionals helping us (mentors & panelists) with this project. But I have to mention that this course is really demanding. Overall it was a great experience, I would definitely do it again as it develops new skills which are not written in a book. Professor Michaely is extremely devoted to this class and we can feel that he puts a lot of efforts. I have to admit, the size of the class (circa 8 students) is much appreciated as well, as it allows a free and smooth communication between the professor and the students. We do not use a ‘book’. However, we learn from professionals in the industry and from the mentors we have. This bring a complete new approach. I believe this course teach us about soft skills and the real professional work environment. It opened my knowledge in the start-up industry and communication skills which I believe are extremely needed for students at University. And again, professor Roni is a great professor who taught us how we should prepare for a real presentation which could happen to any of us once we will be working. »