Flexible MBA Specialization: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology

Add a specialization in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology.

Entrepreneurial thinking is a fundamental aspect of every organization, whether large or small, young or old.

It is not confined to the skills required to start new enterprises. 

This specialization is designed for those who would like to learn more about the methods, processes, challenges, and success factors in innovating and creating new products, services, and enterprises. Graduate ready to take on creative roles in your current organizations, commercialize your ideas, or create new venture enterprises.

Curriculum highlights

Required courses

*BU.233.730 Entrepreneurial Finance (2 Credits)

This course introduces you to identifying, accessing, and evaluating sources of financing for start-ups and expanding technology companies. The approach uses case studies, group interaction, and presentations from experts in the field. Attention will be given to financial theory, risk assessment, valuation options, term sheets, due diligence techniques, and the setting up of financial reports for monitoring progress toward meeting milestones.

*BU.152.710 Entrepreneurial Ventures (2 Credits)

This course focuses on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable entrepreneurs to pursue opportunities in business development. You will form teams to experience each step of the entrepreneurial process. The end result is an opportunity assessment of a business idea. Emphasis is placed on a hands-on approach with learning supplemented by cases appropriate to each phase of the course. You are exposed to real entrepreneurial operations and businesses, through final projects and presentations.

Electives

BU.460.730 New Product Development (2 Credits) 

While developing new products and services is vital to the growth of any company, it is also one of the most risky business decisions. This course examines the strategies and processes used by leading companies for successful new product development. First, you will identify consumers’ pain points and then use practical techniques to navigate the processes of ideation, market analysis, new product development, and commercialization.

BU.152.740 City Lab Catalyst: Business Innovation for Social Impact  (2 Credits) and BU.152.745 City Lab Practicum: Social Impact Project  (2 Credits) 

For the first time in history, humans are an urban species; the livability of cities now determines the future of humanity and the planet. CityLab is an urban innovation platform engaging students in a global experiment of reinventing cities by revitalizing urban neighborhoods from within. The CityLab toolkit immerses you in the concrete context of people and places dealing with the disruptive uncertainty and frustration of livability challenges that threaten the environment, human health, social cohesion, civic order, and prosperity of cities. It introduces strategies, tools, and practices for tackling these challenges as opportunities to co-create value for the flourishing of humanity and the planet. This course is a hands-on, active learning experience requiring a high degree of individual commitment, initiative, self-discipline, adaptability, and collaboration. Learn more

BU.150.710 Discovery to Market I (2 Credits) and BU.150.715 Discovery to Market II (2 Credits) 

This course teaches the process of bringing scientific discoveries to market. Learn about innovation and invention processes, how to identify opportunities, the steps required to bring a product to market, including intellectual property protection and regulatory processes, and strategies to license early-stage inventions to third parties for further development. Work in small teams on early-stage invention projects that are patented or patent pending, sourced by an instructor from university or government technology transfer offices.

BU.141.710 Effective Teaming (2 Credits) 

In today’s businesses, teams are a basic organizational building block. Working within a team is perennially listed as one of the top skills that recruiters look for in graduating MBAs. This course conveys knowledge and practical tools that help you become a more productive team member and leader. Topics include the characteristics of high-performing teams, leadership strategies for creating high-performing teams, strategies for avoiding dysfunctional team dynamics, and best practices for managing diverse and virtual teams.

BU.300.620 Managing Complex Projects (2 Credits)

This course aims to equip you with effective techniques, methods, and practices for defining, scoping, and planning a project, and then managing it to successful completion. Areas of emphasis in the course are driven by practical experiences with large and complex projects frequently being late, over budget, and failing to meet specifications. We will pay particular attention to understanding project complexity, risk, and uncertainty so that you are prepared to address these challenges successfully. You will gain experience using a leading project-management software package.

BU.410.601 Marketing Research (2 Credits)

This course is an introduction to fundamental concepts, processes, and techniques in marketing research. The goal is to enable you to apply these tools to solve real-world problems and to differentiate good research from bad. The topics in this course cover the whole process from defining research problems, selecting appropriate research designs and research methods, and conducting data analysis to making strategic recommendations. The course will also build on the foundations of statistics and introduce more advanced statistical tools relevant for marketing decision making.

BU.121.610 Negotiation (2 Credits)

This course provides you with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to negotiate. Designed around a series of research-based negotiation exercises, the course exposes you to a variety of negotiation situations that help you master two fundamental approaches to negotiation. By reflecting on these exercises in light of negotiation theory, you will develop an awareness of your personal negotiation style, including its strengths and weaknesses. By the end of the course, you will be able to negotiate in an effective, ethical, and culturally appropriate manner.

BU.883.704 Pharmaceutical Strategy (2 Credits)

Based on an overview of scientific, clinical, legal, financial, and ethical perspectives, this course focuses on new strategic developments in the pharmaceutical industry. Topics covered include business strategies in research and development, intellectual property, clinical trials, getting approval from regulatory bodies, pricing, reimbursement, and marketing in the pharmaceutical industry. It explores fast-evolving market models for innovation in the pharmaceutical industry in the context of changing global demographics.