Entrepreneurial Investments

Abstract

Methodologies and tools presented throughout this course will serve to help young scientists and engineers gain the necessary skills and confidence to manage entrepreneurial investment risks and navigate the complexities of decision making within multiple stakeholder settings.

Objective

This course is designed for students interested in investments. Special focus will be placed on theoretical and empirical analysis of the economics of innovation, risk and entrepreneurial investments. Entrepreneurship in this course is studied from the filter of an investor. As such, this course is likewise of interest to students interested in turning advanced research results into highly innovative, socially or economically viable product or service, and financing it sustainably. Essential to any investment decision is knowledge and good understanding of the investment environment. Scientists and engineers need to work within the priorities of the society in which they operate, and their expectations must be aligned with the opportunities and constraints emanating from the economic, social and political environment. This demands bold thinking on technology development, and challenges students to effectively bridge the different cultures represented by the fields of science, engineering and economics. 1. Students with entrepreneurial spirit will gain a good understanding of the investment environment of their scientific and engineering activities. 2. Students interested in turning advanced research results into highly innovative, socially, environmentally and economically viable product or service, will be able to think about entrepreneurship from the filter of an investor. 3. Students in science and engineering will learn that they need to work within the priorities of the society in which they operate, and how to align their expectations with the opportunities and constraints emanating from the economic, social and political environment. They will be challenged to effectively bridge the different cultures represented by the fields of science, engineering and economics. 4. Students will have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurial investments from a mixture of academics, industry leaders and investors who have extensive experience investing in technological innovations.

Content

Both economic theory and empirical knowledge are critical for decision-making skills required to tackle entrepreneurial investment risks and opportunities. To that end, the first part of the course is dedicated to an intensive study of theoretical foundations of economic analysis applied to entrepreneurial investments. The multifaceted issues entrepreneurial investors face, as well as the essential mechanics of startup investing are studied. The second part of the course is dedicated to real world experiences in entrepreneurial investments. Teaching methodology includes class lectures covering the theoretical foundations of entrepreneurial investments, real world case studies, and small group interactive casework and exercises. For select sessions, highly experienced investors will collaborate with course faculty, and share their extensive experiences. This will provide additional real world practical dimensions to classroom learning process.

Resources