Study Guide

Objective

The student is able to
- work and take an active role in an international project
- communicate and negotiate project requirements (project deliverables, project outcomes) with the customer and the project team
- meet the deadlines and requirements set by and with the customer
- communicate the suggestions developed by the project team to the customer in a professional manner
- understand demands of environments between different countries.

Content

Identifying and contacting SME’s in the Turku region which are looking for internationalize their products/services or abroad
Identifying and contacting companies outside Finland which are looking for business opportunities in Finland
Agreeing with a customer about the deliverables and deadlines/milestones
Identifying and gathering the data needed to perform the required tasks
Implementin a project

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.

Exam schedules

The student demonstrates his / her learning throughout the study period in his / her cooperative at BisnessAkatemia.

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 uindividually or in the context of a team. Work may be achieved through the organisation 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

Content scheduling

The training topics arise from the cooperative's business needs and the relevant requirements in competence development. Training topics are chosen creatively and innovatively. In addition, training topics benefit from contributions by the coaches, assistant coaches, external experts as well as other teams.

Examples of training topics:
- International Trade / global trade agreements
- International negotiations
- Cross-cultural management
- Market penetration
- Business in... (Russia, France, Sweden, China, etc...)
- Customs, transportation and import/export documentation

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

The student is evaluated based on the development of the student's own Portfolio. 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)

1 -2, the student is able to:
-work actively to generate value towards one of the many aspects of the internationalisation process in context of the team or the organisation
-understands the main concepts related to internationalisation
- unederstands the basic concepts of initiating and developing international activities in the context of a value/supply chain
-cope with flexibility against problems during whole of part of the internationalisation process
-understand and identify market opportunities and customer needs on foreign markets

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

Grade 3 - 4, the student is able to
-work proactively in relation to multiple aspects of the internationalisation process
-resolve efficiently problems during the internationalisation process and/or in the value/supply chain (e.g. documentations, disruptions)
-make use of established managerial tools during the internationalisation process and/or in value/supply chain management
-develop and use the organisation's network to develop the organisation's brand abroad

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Grade 5, the student is able to
-work creatively in relation to the whole of the internationalisation process in context of the team or the organisation
-identify elements of innovation during the internationalisation process and/or in the value/supply chain
-design and implement the organisaiton's internationalisation process and value/supply chain strategy with the objective of gaining competitive advantage
-combine theories, outcomes of training sessions and personal experiences during the internationalisation process and the implementaiton of the value/supply chain
-anticipate problems during the internationalisation process and the implementaiton of the value/supply chain