Kent Round One

Masters module
* To provide participants with an understanding of the issues that need to be addressed in setting up a technology-based new business
* To provide an understanding of the risks and financial and legal obligations involved in setting up a new business
* To provide participants with the basic skills needed to plan and establish a new business
* To provide participants with an understanding of the importance of innovation in a knowledge-based economy.

Learning Outcomes:

* The preparation of the business plan will integrate a range of learning from other business modules, enabling participants to produce a realistic and objective business plan for a new enterprise to a standard that will meet the requirements of most lending banks and potential investors.
* To understand the financial processes relevant to a new business venture including budgetary planning & control, cash-flow forecasting, VAT, break-even analysis, personal survival budgets, book-keeping, financial accounts, and credit control;
* To understand the legal aspects of developing a new business including trading status, risks and liabilities, relevant UK and EU legislation, insurance, and insolvency as well as the issues and constraints facing prospective entrepreneurs in terms of market entry and access to finance.
* To understand the planning processes for implementing the proposed venture in terms of self-development, obtaining physical resources, planning staff resources, identifying financial resource requirements, and planning the phased implementation of the proposals.
* To understand the marketing processes including researching the potential market and competitors, identifying market segments, preparing a marketing plan, ensuring quality of products and / or services, and understanding customer relationships.
* To understand the importance of innovation in technology and the processes of protecting intellectual property resulting from innovation.
* To understand the strategies for survival and growth required to successfully establish a new business

Module structure:

Delivery will be via six one-day workshops during the Spring Term, held on Fridays on the dates shown below. The workshops will utilise a range of activities, short lectures, group exercises and discussions that will provide the participants with an understanding of the issues involved in establishing a new enterprise, and that will facilitate the production of a practical and realistic business plan for a prospective enterprise. All students will be expected to complete weekly tasks that will contribute towards the formulation of their business plans. Workshop notes and handouts will be provided in electronic format.

Assessment:

The module will be assessed as 100% project. The formal assessment comprises the completion of a business plan proposal for a prospective new business of sufficient content and quality to be capable of presentation direct to a bank manager, private investor or venture capital investor. The business proposal must relate to a potentially viable business that would support the owner / proposer working on a full-time basis. The format for the business plan will be provided and the completed document is expected to be approximately 8,000-10,000 words long.

The assessment instructions will be issued at the second workshop, and the completed business plan must be submitted in the first week of the Summer Term (submission date to be notified). As this module is assessed 100% by coursework, the business plans are not returned, but feedback will be available. Students are graded on a percentage scale with 40% as the pass mark.

Students will be expected to undertake wider reading in order to contribute to the learning processes, but as this is a practical assessment of applied knowledge and understanding, as opposed to theoretical research, detailed academic referencing will not be appropriate to the formal assessment.