Dr. Lotfi Belkhir (On Leave)

This introductory module will develop an understanding of the fundamentals of sustainable businesses by students exploring and evaluating their new business ideas and selecting an idea to pursue. Students will develop an awareness of, and skills in innovation and entrepreneurial behaviour. There will be a focus on understanding business idea generation, development, and evaluation. A key outcome of this module will be the plan for Phase two of the students Enterprise Project. Emphasis will be placed on developing one’s own entrepreneurial orientation while practising effective teamwork.

This course follows on the introductory course SEP 6E03 and teaches the students how to develop a customer-centric startup by learning and applying the tools of primary market research, developing a proof of concept, learning the basics of managerial accounting, corporate finance and investor term-sheet negotiations, and finally developing a detailed 5-year financial plan.

This course introduces sustainability within a unified framework of Total Sustainability Management that will teach the student how to deeply embed sustainability into the enterprise through the use of Design principles, Bill-of-Rights of the Planet and through public policy. This approach will apply to not only a company product but also to its business strategy and business model. Furthermore, the course will teach the student a problem-solving approach that combines innovation, design and policy to emphasize the synergetic interplay between them. The student will learn how to think of sustainability as a “Way of Thinking.” The course will make liberal use of appropriate case studies, and call on several internal and external speakers who are recognized subject-matter experts.

The POC Studio will consist of weekly 2-hour sessions of the MEEI/MTEI students who will share, in a presentation format, their detailed proof-of-concept plan and their progress in executing their plan. Each team will present to the rest of the class on a bi-weekly basis, and provide a detailed update on their respective POC deliverables and activities, including technology and product development, prototypes, software demos, customer and market validation, etc. Each team presentation will be followed by questions and feedback session with the instructors and the class, as well as directions and guidance for next presentation.