Study Guide

Objective

The student can develop and exploit product and service innovations. Innovation is a product, service, way of action or a business model. The student can use innovation tools in the process.

Materials

Learning materials are indicated throughout the:
- planning and implementation of trainings and reading cricles
- monday team meetings
- learning agreement
Selection of high quality readings is done at the begining of the semester.

Teaching methods

Business Academy is a learning environment which building blocks are:
1. Training Sessions: Each team has training sessions twice a week. The contents and topics come from the team’s own business and learning goals. Training sessions are students’ active learning by innovative methods. The planning, preparing and implementation are students’ responsibility.
The coach supports and enhances the learning in the training sessions, in which knowledge is shared, built and deepened. The requirement level in training sessions grows as the learning progresses.
2. Reading Circles: Every students prepares for the Reading Circle by choosing the topic area as well as a book that boosts both the business and the learning. The book should be read and the relevant tasks should be done before the Reading Circle in which the lessons learnt are discussed and shared. The personal reflections are elaborated further and a common product that summarizes and supports the learning is made.
3. Learning Agreement: The Learning Agreement crystalizes student’s prior experience, current state, goals and ways to measure them. The students tries to actively reach the set goals and develops him/herself towards the chosen career.
4. Project Work/Running Business: The student team sets up a co-operative company and develop the business according to their own plans. Knowledge and skills are put to direct and immediate action. Continuous feedback helps the students to learn and develop further.
5. Markets/Customers: Student-teams operate in open business markets. Genuine customer contacts and co-operations with companies make it possible to apply the theories in action.
6. Networking: Students have excellent opportunities to build relationships and networks with business decision-makers, stakeholders and partners during their BusinessAcademy studies.
7. Coach: The students are supported in finding their best way of learning by their team coach. The basic role of the team coach is to support the team and its individual members to learn and develop themselves, so eventually everyone can find his/her own way. Hence the concept: guided self-organized learning. The team coach has the most important role in the educational program.
8. Team: The team is the most important learning unit. Team-learning gives possibilities to become a versatile business expert. The team starts a company creates its own business and is responsible for theoretical learning process. The coach supports and challenges the team which co-works with other teams.
9. Feedback, Evaluation and Continuous Development: Continuous feedback is part of BusinessAcademy best practices. Each project and learning situation is analyzed by using a four-square model. Based on the feedback and assessment learning is summarized and adjusting actions points and /or development ideas are agreed.
Teaching methods include:
Problem based learning.
Student centered flipped classroom.

International connections

Collaboration with CARPE members, with own campus Erasmus students, with Salo Campus Erasmus students. with the international affairs (e.g. internaitonal week). Working on import and export projects.

Completion alternatives

The student can speciify in its learning agreement the importance of achievements done either individually or in the context of a team. Work may be achieved through the organisation team or project sub-teams.
Course is targeted for students working at the BusinessAcademy. The student can specify in its learning agreement the importance of achievements done either individually or in the context of a team. Work may be achieved through the organization team or project sub-teams.

Student workload

On a 5 ECTS workload basis. on average, the workload unfolds as follows:
Lectures, project meetings: 45 h
Study Guidance: 20 h
Self-Learning, project work: 70 h
It includes:
- Lead a project or participate as an active member in a project ideation and execution.
- Participation in trainings and reading circles.
- Making a personal learning portfolio.
- Orientating discussions with the coach.
- Using project tools related to project management.
- Reading competence related books and materials.

Content scheduling

A student sets her/his objectives, starts and implements innovation processes. A student can create innovations for the cooperative's own need or for a customer. Innovation is ongoing action on a BusinessAcademy cooperative. In addition they arrange innovation events (i.e. 12 h or 24 h innovations). In innovation process students search information and use tools. A student must prove that she/he understands the benefits and purposes of different tools in developing. A student may start using the developed innovations.
Training topics arise from the cooperative's business needs. Training contents, exercises and activities are designed creatively and innovatively. In addition, coaching tips, assistant coaches, and other teams can provide support for training.
Possible training topics:
- Topic 1: Innovation management
- Topic 2: Creativity
- Topic 3: Open Innovation
...

Further information

Academic studies in Business Academy model are based on active learning process as individual and as part of a team. The elements of the learning process are intertwined, i.e. both theory and tools are learned by activating methods in training sessions and reading circles. The theories are put in immediate action in each co-operative’s business. The reflections of business, continuous feedback and development enhance deeper learning and bring up new needs for further theoretical learning. Positive cycle and the flow-feeling of doing business yield more knowledge, skills and competences. In Business Academy model learning is both theoretical and practical.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment methods and criteria

Students receive feedback on their activities from clients, team mates and coaches. He also makes continuous self-assessment and reflection on his activities. The assessment focuses on the student's activities in the team(s) and the projects. Students compile a portfolio of their activities and outputs. The portfolio includes his/her hourly records, book reflexion, and output from activities (documents, reports, pictures, links, videos, etc.). The student confirms his / her skills and learning with his / her portfolio and report.
The semester portfolio is an organized presentation of an individual's: acquired knowledge, developed attitudes, developed skills, and developed competences in the matter of evaluation, Concretely it is everything that has been thought-through, achieved, executed or learnt by the participant in the topic of evaluation.

Assessment criteria, fail (0)

The participant fails to commit to acquiring the knowledge, fails to developing the skills and attitude and consequently fails to building the competence in the topic. The participant is not able to demonstrate having acquired the necessary theoretical knowledge nor having developed the competence By the mean of individual achievement, training preparation, team collaboration or project work.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

Approved grade (1), student
- actively participates in various product development and innovation processes, including the preparation and reflection efforts;
The student / group operates independently with the support of the supervisor. Limited choice of source material and limited use of source material in relation to the tasks assigned.
The presentation of selected issues and own conclusions is poor.
There is little critical thinking or logical integration of the output.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

Grade good (3), student can
- leverage product development and innovation techniques and team strengths to find solutions
- pay attention to the customer's needs and be able to make suitable design
- develop economically viable solutions and deliver results
- justify the selection of appropriate product development and innovation methods / tools
The student / group is proactive and utilizes the skills and opportunities of their own group. Versatile selection and use of appropriate source material.
The presentation of the conclusions is logical and clear and contains own reflection.
Outputs contain critical thinking and have been active. Students create a positive atmosphere in their work community.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Excellent (5), the student is capable
- Of finding business opportunities
- Working long-term and constructively on the innovation process
- Create new, workable and economically viable solutions
The student / team utilizes the expertise of different groups. The student / team is able to critically analyze different solution models and is able to structure the output into a whole from different perspectives. The student / team has received constructive feedback and utilized the feedback. The work of the team has been dialogue and developing the skills of all.
The work has been exemplary and goal-oriented. The student creates a positive atmosphere in his / her work community and helps and encourages others.