Undergrad & Postgrad Units for Innovative Minds

A guide to innovation and entrepreneurship units at UWA.

There are several innovation-centred units on offer at UWA. Want to learn some basics about starting and owning your own business? Want to prepare yourself for challenges within the workforce by developing innovative problem-solving skills? Check out the list below.

If entrepreneurship & innovation is of particular interest, then consider pursuing the undergrad major or graduate certificate!

Undergrad Units

These units are offered as part of the BBus and BCom programs. Some of these are core units, however, all units can be taken as electives.

BBus (Enterprise & Innovation Major) - This major is for students to develop their skills, knowledge, and practical engagement with the principles of entrepreneurship and innovation in a local and global context. Students will develop solution-based skills to complex real-world problems and learn to critically apply business solutions to them.

• Level 1

o MGMT1136 Management and Organisations - This unit provides students with an introduction to the theories of management and organisations that underpin contemporary management practices in public and private sectors.

o MKTG1342 Introduction to Enterprise and Innovation - This unit introduces students to processes of innovation and entrepreneurship. What is innovation, what are its characteristics, and how does it compare to business as usual? What is entrepreneurship, and what is the difference between start-up entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship?

• Level 2

o BUSN2102 Changing the World: Social Innovation, Finance and Enterprise - This unit highlights how innovation and entrepreneurship are solving major global social and economic challenges such as hunger, poverty, homelessness and intergenerational disadvantage and unemployment.

o MGMT2311 Organisational Learning and Innovation - This unit introduces students to the concepts and issues which influence approaches to organisational structure and design.

o MKTG2301 Small Business Management - This unit concentrates on the theory and practice of effective small business management and challenges assumptions that may be held about the way small businesses can or should adopt large business models and management practices.

• Level 3

o MKTG3303 New Product Development - This unit focuses on new product development (NPD) approaches and frameworks practised within established small and large firms.

o MKTG3342 Entrepreneurship in Practice - This unit introduces students to the entrepreneurial process and those aspects of management of particular importance to the entrepreneur.

Bloom's Lunchpad Unit - Launchpad provides students with an academic structure that encourages and supports entrepreneurial activity. Accepted students will be provided access to Bloom's co-working space, allowing them to interact with members with small businesses and start-ups. Students will also have the opportunity to pitch their business idea to investors and the public at the end of the semester. Students will be encouraged to continue their start-ups after the unit concludes. This unit provides students with an introduction to the theories of management and organisations that underpin contemporary management practices in public and private sectors.

Postgrad Units – Within the MBA Program

Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation - The Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation will teach you how to deal with uncertainty, manage innovation and improve the business through the application of best-practice methods of small-business management and new product development.

• Core Units

o MGMT5601 Small Business Management - This unit concentrates on the management of small businesses and the aspects of coping with the survival and growth of small and medium-sized businesses.

o MGMT5608 Entrepreneurship and Innovation - This unit introduces students to the nature and characteristics of entrepreneurship and innovation and explores the interrelationship between the two within contemporary economies.

o MKTG5603 Management of Technology Innovation - This unit provides students with a strategic perspective on the role of technology and innovation in organisations and with practical management tools that they can use to manage specific innovations and technological changes.

• Choice of one from the following units:

o ACCT5602 Accounting - This unit develops students' ability to understand, interpret and use financial reports. It is structured to provide an understanding of accounting concepts, issues and problems rather than educating someone to take the role of a professional accountant.

o MKTG5550 Marketing Principles - This unit studies the marketing function; marketing decision making and the marketing mix; forecasting demand; market segmentation and related behavioural issues; marketing strategies; product as a marketing variable; channel strategy; promotion budgeting and allocation, promotion, and advertising strategies; pricing decisions; and evaluation and control of marketing management.

Postgrad Units – Within the Master of Biotechnology Program

o MKTG5503 Enterprise and Innovation - The nature of enterprise behaviour and the characteristics of entrepreneurs in both large and small organisations are examined, as are the policy issues associated with encouraging enterprise and innovation within large organisations and the wider community. Students examine their propensity for enterprise and creativity while exploring the nature and process of innovation.

o MKTG5604 Technology Commercialisation - This unit aims to give students a fundamental understanding of the process of new product development and commercialisation within the field of biotechnology. It examines the nature of innovation and technology management within the economy and the challenges of getting new, high-technology products from laboratory to market.