Get ECTS-points while working on your idea
An elective course is for you that wants to:
- Use 7,5 or 15 ECTS to develop your own idea
- Write your bachelor project or thesis in your own idea
- Test your academic skills in practice
- Have an idea you want to turn into a business
- Boost your education with innovation and entrepreneurship
- Work independently and like taking initiative
- Increase your network in the startup and business environment
5 workshops
As part of a ECTS-based course, you have to participate in the following five workshops, that are part of the "Lead-in Program", available for all students at UCPH (Lead-in Program). But when you participate in the workshops as part of a course, you will additionally receive help for shaping a strong project and get 1:1 coaching and feedback during the course.
Workshop 1: The idea & your customers
All successful projects and sustainable companies rest on a good idea, i.e. an idea that solves a problem or meets a need many people recognize and are concerned with having solved or met. Developing an idea that does that requires solid insight into your (potential) customers or users. However, it can be difficult to get out the door, ask the right questions and listen curiously. In workshop 1, we delve into what you know and don't know about your idea and your customers/users, and work to create instructive conversations from your starting point.
After workshop 1 you have:
- Specified what kind of value your idea creates (In other words: why should people choose your particular solution?).
- A list of questions you need to clarify in order to move on.
- Practical experience with how to gain valuable knowledge about your idea through short conversations, both inside and outside your network.
Workshop 2: You as an entrepreneur
Ideas are worthless if no one acts on them. Repeatedly. Therefore, you as an entrepreneur are at least as important as your idea. The better you know yourself, the easier it will be to organize an entrepreneurial process that takes into account what you can and know (and what you can't and don’t know) - and the greater the probability of success. In workshop 2, we delve into your values, your motivation and your strengths as an entrepreneur and work with the relationship between you and your idea - why are you the right person to bring it to life?
After workshop 2 you have:
- Gained an understanding of how you can use your strengths in relation to your particular idea/business (and potential team) – and what you should seek help for.
- Mapped relevant partners.
- Worked with storytelling techniques as a way of creating understanding, sympathy, and potential support to your idea or startup.
Workshop 3: Test the solution
As an entrepreneur, one of your most important tasks is to convert your guesses into knowledge, so that you can move forward on an informed basis. As we saw in workshop 1, part of this can take place as conversations. But when it comes to testing your solution, the conversations cannot stand alone, because it is far too easy - and non-committal - to answer 'yes please' to something that does not yet exist. In workshop 3 we present methods for obtaining action-based feedback. We will also work on putting your knowledge into a framework – a sustainable business model – which can help you structure your testing process further. And finally, we will work to make the, for many, dreaded sales process tangible and manageable.
After workshop 3 you have:
- Knowledge of techniques that, with few resources, can help you obtain action-based feedback on your idea.
- Practical experience in using a business model as a process management tool.
- Knowledge of how you can incorporate sustainability into your idea – regardless of whether you are making a product or a service.
- Techniques and questions that support good sales conversations.
Workshop 4: The next, best step
As an entrepreneur, you are in a search mode. The entrepreneurial process is full of unknowns, and the answer to one question often gives rise to three new ones. There are steep learning curves, mistakes and detours in a process that is rarely linear. Therefore, you must continue to be curious and find ways to move forward in small steps. In workshop 4, we collect the insights you take with you about yourself and your idea - what has made the biggest difference, what tools proved especially valuable for you, and what are the most important next steps you need to take. We talk about your access to further support at Lighthouse and at KU and celebrate the end of the course.
After workshop 4 you have:
- A plan for your further process, focusing on the questions or conditions that are most important for you to work on.
Workshop 5: Funding, Strategy & Idea Pitch
As an entrepreneur, you need to have a clear vision for your idea or business, but also a flexible strategy to reach it. You need to be able to adapt to changing circumstances and take advantage of new opportunities. You also need to be able to communicate your idea in a convincing way to different stakeholders who can help you realize it. It can be potential customers, partners, investors or others. In workshop 5 we work on creating a strategic framework for your idea or business that can help you make good decisions and prioritize your resources. We also talk about different forms of funding and how you can attract them. And finally, we prepare to present your idea in front of a panel of experts and get feedback on it.
After workshop 5 you have:
A strategic framework for your idea or business that can help you navigate an uncertain future. Knowledge of different funding options and how you can tailor your pitch to them. Practical experience in pitching your idea in front of a panel of experts and getting feedback on it.
The process
- Consider which idea/problem you want to work with
- Write or call us to get information on how to get started
- Sign up for the Lead-In Programme
- Choose an academic supervisor and set the frame for your project together
- Sign up for the course Project in Practice or as an alternative Project out of Scope in the desired block on KU-Net
- Set up a meeting between you, your academic supervisor and SCIENCE Innovation Hub. We will talk about your idea, and the course and discuss expectations.
Facilitators
- Jakub Rubinowski, Business Developer
- Frederik Nygaard, Hub Manager
Where to get more information?
- Book a meeting with our business developer
- KU net – study information
- Get guidance in SCIENCE Studenterservice
Lead-In Programme
If you are interested in a non-ECTS-giving course, then the Lead-In Programme in UCPH Lighthouse is also available for all members of SCIENCE Innovation Hub.
Contact SCIENCE Innovation Hub
If you have any questions, dream of working on your idea or want to collaborate with us, you are always welcome to send us an e-mail