ELEC5701: Technology Venture Creation (2013 - Semester 2)
| Unit: | ELEC5701: Technology Venture Creation (6 CP) |
| Mode: | Normal-Day |
| On Offer: | Yes |
| Level: | Postgraduate |
| Faculty/School: | School of Electrical and Information Engineering |
| Unit Coordinator/s: |
A/Prof Calvo, Rafael
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| Session options: | Semester 2 |
| Versions for this Unit: |
| Campus: | Camperdown/Darlington |
| Pre-Requisites: | None. |
| Prohibitions: | ENGG5102. |
| Brief Handbook Description: | This unit of study prepares graduating students with insight and skills in how to turn a concept into a high technology startup company. The class will provide students with knowledge, practical experience and frameworks to assist in evaluating the market for a technology product or service, the design & viability of business models around it, the formulation of a funding-reading business plan & financials, capital raising options & process, venture capital, building distribution channels, intellectual property protection, putting together an A-grade management team, term sheets & funding documentation, technology sales models and going global. We will look at real world case studies of successful technology companies (and flame outs). Does Twitter have a viable business model? Will Facebook eat its lunch? Is YouTube just burning cash? Will Google rule the world? During the period of the course, students will form teams and write a business plan around a concept they propose. Each student will assume a role in the team (CEO, CTO, CFO, VP Sales & Marketing). The plan will be judged by a panel of real world venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and angel investors to determine the final grade for the course. The course is limited to 40 students (10 teams of 4) in addition to a waiting list of 8. Be warned that a serious commitment will be required in developing the concept into a viable business plan. The outcome, however, will be very rewarding to those students interested in starting the next Google. Prospective students should send an email in 400 words or less on why they want to enroll prior to acceptance, to the course email address. This course is taught by instructors experienced in technology startups & venture capital. The course will include a number of guest lectures by industry. |
| Assumed Knowledge: | None. |
| Lecturer/s: |
Mr Barrie, Matt
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| Timetable: | ELEC5701 Timetable | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Time Commitment: |
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| T&L Activities: | Workgroup: Visiting professional or Teambased interaction exercise |
Attributes listed here represent the key course goals (see Course Map tab) designated for this unit. The list below describes how these attributes are developed through practice in the unit. See Learning Outcomes and Assessment tabs for details of how these attributes are assessed.
| Attribute Development Method | Attribute Developed |
| Understanding what venture stakeholders requires of them and what they can require of others. Communicating with Venture Capitalists, Product Developers, Marketing and Distribution, and Production Departments. | Communication (Level 4) |
| Through a study of engineering project case studies students are encouraged to think critically about: (a) The roles which engineers play in the generation of successful ventures, (b) The social and ethical issues in which engineers can become involved when they apply engineering knowledge to the generation of productive, economic activity. | Professional Conduct (Level 3) |
| Understand how to form and manage a venture project team. | Project Management and Teamwork (Level 3) |
For explanation of attributes and levels see Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table.
Learning outcomes are the key abilities and knowledge that will be assessed in this unit. They are listed according to the course goal supported by each. See Assessment Tab for details how each outcome is assessed.
Communication (Level 4)
1. Understand what venture project stakeholders requires of them and what they can require of others
2. Communicate with Financial, Design, Development, Marketing and Production Departments
Professional Conduct (Level 3)
3. Analyse the roles of engineers in creating productive, economic, successful venture projects in a variety of engineering projects
4. Analyse the social, ethical and legal issues that arise from venture economic activities.
5. Analyse the economic, social and ethical issues involved in any engineering project in which the student might become involved
6. Understand the requirements of financial, supply chain, development team, marketing and production interfaces
7. Understand the main operational requirements of a venture entrepreneur working in industry
8. Identify and record the intellectual property content of their work
9. Understand the requirements of a quality system
10. Understand the working environment of a project team
| Assessment Methods: |
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| Assessment Description: |
Assignment: Individual Assignments Assignment: Group Assignment |
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| Grading: |
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| Faculty Policies & Procedures: | Academic Honesty in Coursework. All students must submit a cover sheet for all assessment work that declares that the work is original and not plagiarised from the work of others. Coursework assessment and examination policy. The faculty policy is to use standards based assessment for units where grades are returned and criteria based assessment for Pass/Fail only units. Norm referenced assessment will only be used in exceptional circumstances and its use will need to be justified to the Undergraduate Studies Committee. Special consideration for illness or misadventure may be considered when an assessment component is severely affected. This policy gives the details of the information that is required to be submitted along with the appropriate procedures and forms. Special Arrangements for Examination and Assessment. In exceptional circumstances alternate arrangements for exams or assessment can be made. However concessions for outside work arrangements, holidays and travel, sporting and entertainment events will not normally be given. Student Appeals against Academic Decisions. Students have the right to appeal any academic decision made by a school or the faculty. The appeal must follow the appropriate procedure so that a fair hearing is obtained. Note that policies regarding assessment submission, penalties and assessment feedback depend upon the individual unit of study. Details of these policies, where applicable, will be found above with other assessment details in this unit outline. All university policies can be found at http://sydney.edu.au/policy Various request forms for the Faculty of Engineering and IT can be found at http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/forms/ |
Note that the "Weeks" referred to in this Schedule are those of the official university semester calendar https://web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp
| Week | Description |
| Week 1 | The commercial working environment of a venture entrepreneur |
| Week 2 | Managing and being managed |
| Week 3 | Workplace, workforce and commercial ethics + Business Ethics |
| Week 4 | Topics in Commercial Law |
| Tutorial 1 | |
| Week 5 | IP & Copyright |
| Tutorial 2 | |
| Week 6 | Communication: Language and Form |
| Tutorial 3 | |
| Week 7 | Tutorial 4 |
| Conflict Resolution and Working Relationships | |
| Week 8 | Tutorial 5 |
| Project Planning and Time Management. | |
| Week 9 | Tutorial 6 |
| Quality and Procurement Management | |
| Week 10 | Tutorial 7 |
| What the Marketing Department wants | |
| Week 11 | What the Production Department wants |
| Tutorial 8 | |
| Week 12 | Guest Speaker |
| Week 13 | Risk Management |
| STUVAC (Week 14) | No lectures |
| Exam Period | No Lectures |
| Assessment Due: Final Exam |
Course Relations
The following is a list of courses which have added this Unit to their structure.
Course Goals
This unit contributes to the achievement of the following course goals:
| Attribute | Practiced | Assessed |
| Project Management and Teamwork (Level 3) | Yes | 0% |
| Design (Level 3) | No | 0% |
| Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 3) | No | 0% |
| Maths/Science Methods and Tools (Level 2) | No | 0% |
| Information Seeking (Level 3) | No | 0% |
| Communication (Level 4) | Yes | 23.07% |
| Professional Conduct (Level 3) | Yes | 76.94% |
These goals are selected from Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table which defines overall goals for courses where this unit is primarily offered. See Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table for details of the attributes and levels to be developed in the course as a whole. Percentage figures alongside each course goal provide a rough indication of their relative weighting in assessment for this unit. Note that not all goals are necessarily part of assessment. Some may be more about practice activity. See Learning outcomes for details of what is assessed in relation to each goal and Assessment for details of how the outcome is assessed. See Attributes for details of practice provided for each goal.
