Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is a three-year full-time (or part-time equivalent) qualification designed to enable students to acquire knowledge of the concepts and theories of entrepreneurship and innovation and to apply them professionally and ethically in dynamically evolving business and commercial contexts locally and globally.

Throughout the course, students will acquire cognitive skills to source, distil and interpret relevant business and commercial information and data to analyse the complex commercial contexts of new ventures or business growth opportunities. They will be able to identify business opportunities and develop innovative ideas and ventures drawing on analytical skills and problem solving strategies. Students will use their understanding of industrial, commercial, marketing, and financial principles to inform and drive successful entrepreneurial activities. They will be able to interact, negotiate, and communicate with others clearly and succinctly to achieve interpersonal and commercial outcomes. A graduate of the course will be able to make sound judgements informed by legal, regulatory and ethical standards to guide their entrepreneurial practice and business activities.

Now more than ever the demands of contemporary business and commercial activities require creativity and innovation to drive growth and sustainability. To be an entrepreneur in an increasingly global marketplace requires critical analysis and creative thinking and a solid grounding in the principles of business development, management, communication and negotiation. Central to the challenge that Australia faces for successful development of innovation in business is the absence of a cohort of entrepreneurs who are skilled in commercialisation of business innovation and in the sustained growth of ventures. The Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is structured so that students build the knowledge and practice the application of that knowledge to business innovation and entrepreneurial endeavours. The goal is to extend and deepen student capabilities so they become innovators who can drive the commercialisation process from idea incubation, through successful business launch, sustained growth and beyond.

The CIHE Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is designed to produce graduates who will play key roles in innovation and business generation within the small to medium enterprise sector which is vital to the future of Australian and global economic growth.

• Year one of the course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of entrepreneurship and innovation, accounting, and marketing. Students study economics, business communication and business ethics and are introduced to the principles and practices of creativity and innovation in a business context.

• Year two of the course provides opportunities to broaden and deepen their understanding of entrepreneurship and disruptive innovation and what is involved in starting and building a business. These units are complemented through studies in business planning, the digital economy, and corporate entrepreneurship and innovation. Students study organisational behaviour and become familiar with the commercial law that governs entrepreneurial activity.

• Year three of the course aims to consolidate and further deepen the students’ knowledge and understanding of financial management, leadership for change, intellectual property and commercialisation and integrated marketing communications. Students can select from electives in international business, global entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and services marketing to broaden their understanding of the local and global business environment. The third year culminates in the capstone unit, Entrepreneurial Project in which students are mentored through a business incubation process in which they research, plan, launch and grow a new business venture.

Throughout the course, achievement of unit and course learning outcomes will be assessed through a range of formative and summative assessment activities. Lecturers will aim to provide timely and constructive feedback to support the success of students in the achievement of learning outcomes and to acquire the necessary attributes that will distinguish them as a graduate of CIHE.