Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/52321
Expanding On Innovation BIZ 1-2-3, First-Year Innovation Sequence E. Phillip Saunders College of Business Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, New York BY BRIAN O'NEIL, VICTOR PEROTTI, JOHN TU, AND JOHN WARD Several years ago, our faculty decided to take a more active approach to exposing our first-year students to business innovation. Before this, our first-year MBA students had been taking a single course, "World of Business," but many students and faculty felt we should be doing more. With the encouragement of our dean, Ashok Rao, a curricu- lum design team created Business 1-2-3—or BIZ 1-2-3—a series of three 11-week experiential courses: Business 1, "Ideas and Creativity"; Business 2, "Business Plan Devel- opment"; and Business 3, "Com- mercialization." Our students also take a course in business software applications concurrently with Busi- ness 2, which enables them to use Microsoft Excel to develop their business plans. The objective of this course sequence is to introduce first-year stu- dents to the concepts of innovation, design, and creativity, as well as to teach them how to research, develop, and commercialize a business idea. Most important, it's designed to get them excited about innovation. 48 January/February 2012 BizEd BUSINESS 2 WINTER • Business plan • Excel The Progression of Biz 1-2-3 BUSINESS 1 • Ideas and Creativity FALL the idea generation process. Early in the semester, students work alone to generate business ideas that address needs in the market. They develop those ideas quickly through class discussions and break-out groups; next, they form teams of three to five students each based on com- mon interests. By week five of the quarter, each team begins to con- duct research to more thoroughly define its ideas. At this point, the teams develop photo essays that capture the essence of their ideas. Additionally, each team must present its business idea several times, in different ways, dur- ing the fall quarter. For instance, in week six, they must make a three- minute elevator pitch; in week 11, they give a ten-minute audio-visual presentation and field questions. At each stage, the teams receive feed- back from classmates and faculty, which they use to develop their busi- ness plans in Business 2. BUSINESS 3 • Commercialization SPRING • Web and video production Business 1: The Idea "Ideas and Creativity" meets twice a week in the fall quarter and teaches students the fundamen- tals of business via short lectures, exams, and reading materials. To make the class truly interactive, we also incorporate current issues and a simulation that reinforces learn- ing of the basic business functions. But at the heart of the course is Business 2: The Plan The key objective for "Business Plan Development" is for students to understand the basics and uses of the business plan. Students learn that a well-structured, detailed business plan can help entrepre- neurs uncover potential pitfalls and opportunities that they otherwise might miss—and, more important, that detailed business plans are necessary to attract funding from venture capitalists. In Business 2, students meet once each week to attend lectures, discuss new material, and discuss the development of their plans with faculty. We encourage students to visit the Small Business Administra- tion's Web site, where they can find a template for writing a business