• Create and analyze the value of an idea through the application of value proposition design, prototyping procedures and iterative testing participatory design methods.
• Create and analyze the use of various presentation modalities for bringing ideas into concrete realities that others can experience.
• Demonstrate analytical knowledge on the process of creating value through concepts and prototypes.
• Demonstrate analytical knowledge on collaborative processes.

This course introduces students to the creation, testing, and presentation of business concepts and prototypes developed through collaborative processes. Drawing on theories and methods from entrepreneurship, innovation, and design, the course treats business concepts and prototypes not as fixed outcomes, but as provisional and evolving representations of value propositions that support learning, experimentation, and sensemaking under conditions of uncertainty.

The course is organized as a studio-based learning process structured around seven interconnected modules. Students begin by pitching tentative ideas and forming diverse teams. Through successive cycles of fieldwork, analysis, ideation, and prototyping, students systematically interrogate assumptions about users, problems, and value, using relevant theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches. Interviews and observations are central activities throughout the course and provide empirical material for reframing problems and proposing solutions.

Rather than applying frameworks mechanically, students are expected to engage critically with approaches from entrepreneurship, innovation, and design, such as value proposition design, ethnographic methods, and prototyping. Students learn not only how to apply these theories and methods, but also how to use the experience of applying them as a basis for critically reflecting on their strengths and limitations.

Learning unfolds through continuous iteration, peer-to-peer feedback, and instructor guidance. Each session combines short lectures, hands-on group work, and presentations, with feedback functioning as a central mechanism for learning. Students document their process throughout the course, supporting reflexive engagement with the theoretical frameworks they apply and the methodological choices they make.

The course culminates in a trade show–style exhibition, where students present their business concepts and prototypes to peers and external judges. This setting foregrounds communication and the systematic collection of feedback as integral parts of concept and prototype development.

In developing and refining a business concept and a related prototype, students are expected to integrate theoretical and empirical material and to critically assess the strengths and limitations of selected approaches.

The outcome of this process will be the Mandatory Assignment. The Mandatory Assignment is graded as “Pass/Fail” on an individual basis. Students must receive a “Pass” before being allowed to take the Final Exam. The Final Exam will be a 10-page take home assignment. 

• Classic and basic theory
• Methodology

• Development of research questions
• Data collection
• Analysis
• Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
• Students conduct independent research-like activities under supervision

Minor changes may occur to this course description until 30 June.

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