Syllabus Information

5.1. Methodological overview

The course consists of 15 two-hour sessions. Every session includes both a lecture that offers an academic, panoramic view of the relevant topics, student's presentation and discussion about them. Practice sessions will complement the lectures with the analysis and discussion of theoretical and empirical work published in leading entrepreneurship journals.

Given the advanced nature of this course, it seems reasonable to use teaching methods that emphasize the active role of the student in the teaching-learning process. In this sense, the lectures will adopt a seminar approach. Therefore, each lecture begins with the distribution of papers among students that will be presented in the following session. Thus, students will not only read the material, but also analyze its contents and their reflections can serve as a basis for further study. Students must submit a brief summary of the readings according to the following scheme:

• Identification of the paper, including author(s), title and the journal where it was published.
• Objectives and motivation, with particular emphasis on the mainstream within the article and the contribution of the work in relation to previous literature.
• Theoretical approach. The key theories used in the work and the basic assumptions should be outlined.
• Methodology, highlighting the research techniques used, its adequacy, data sources (in empirical works) or possible methodological alternatives.
• Results and conclusions. Brief identification of the most relevant results and conclusions that derive from the paper.
• Personal assessment and critique, indicating the main limitations and implications for future work, as well as possible extensions (this section is particularly important, so it should receive priority attention).

5.2. Learning tasks

The course includes the following learning tasks: 

• Keynote presentations by the professor (first part of each session).

• Presentations by students and discussion of recommended readings (second part).

• Research proposal, which will be defended at the end of the course.

• Reading of recommended materials and preparing summaries of the assigned papers.

• Use of office hours to clarify any doubts that may arise during the the course.

5.3. Syllabus

The course will address the following topics:

Topic 1. Introduction to entrepreneurship.
Topic 2. Methodological issues in entrepreneurship research.
Topic 3. Determinants of entrepreneurial activity.
Topic 4. The entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Topic 5. Entrepreneurship and funding sources.
Topic 6. Research agenda in entrepreneurship.

5.4. Course planning and calendar

The workload assigned to this course is 3 ECTS representing 75 hours of dedication by the student. 30 of these hours will require attendance, while the remaining 45 are for the autonomous work of the student. The intended distribution of this time is as follows:

• 15 lectures: 15 hours
• 15 sessions of presentation of readings and assignments: 15 hours
• Reading of recommended material: 20 hours
• Preparation of presentations and final proposal: 20 hours
• Final exam (including preparation): 5 hours