A course in the series of Deeper Experiential Engagement Projects (DEEP), ET5101 Deep Drive into Entrepreneurship develops your awareness in the relevance of entrepreneurship and innovation beyond the classroom. The course makes use of projects initiated from interest-based or problem-driven activities. Learn from entrepreneurship faculty and be mentored by experienced entrepreneurs. The course will expose you to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and support networks at NTU.

You will be introduced to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, innovation and new venture creation process. You will learn to generate ideas, identify opportunities, discover customer needs, design a product or service, and develop a relevant prototype and business model. This training will enable you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and the practical skills, which are highly relevant to any entrepreneurship undertaking in the future.

At the end of the course, present and pitch your business plan at the Chua Thian Poh Entrepreneurship Education Venture Fund competition, and win up to S$30,000 in start-up grant.   

For more details, please download the full module outline here.

This course aims to introduce students to a framework of business development strategy, equip students with theories and tools to develop strategies, engage students in the application of these theories and tools to real-life business cases. This course focuses on strategic decisions, which will have a long-term impact on the organisation.

 The course enables students to discover how adopting entrepreneurial marketing thinking will help them to:

1. Gain an understanding on the functional role of marketing in the wider context of a business and entrepreneurship setting.
2. Answer crucial questions of “What am I selling, to whom and why, and how can I be a market leader?” 
3. Appreciate marketing strategies applied conceptually and in real-world enterprises.

 Pre-requisite: Nil

From high-tech electronic products to low-tech children’s toys, human-centered design leads to the creation of great products or services through a deep understanding of human needs. The key to any start-up success is the quick and accurate identification of its customer base, and the value to its target market. Design behaviours – collaboration, empathy towards others, prototyping new ideas, and continuous improvement – are important when delving into any new experience.

 On another note, entrepreneurs spend most of the time interacting with all kinds of systems, which are often complex mixes of technology, people, and issues. Even in a simple system there can be several subtle cause-and-effects that we have to deal with if we want to change or improve things. Learning about systems thinking means learning about these behavioural properties and characteristics.

 This course consists of two parts:

• Part A discusses the roles that innovation and design play in entrepreneurship, and specially design thinking and its application to developing new products, services and the organisation of businesses are introduced; and
• Part B focuses on systems thinking, which enables entrepreneurs to develop, and take advantage of, the potential to a more holistic way of managing and growing startup teams, ventures, and the businesses.

 Pre-requisite: Nil