Online Diploma in Entrepreneurship

Overview

Entrepreneurship is of growing importance to the economy and society in general because it deals with innovation, problem solving, innovation and wealth creation all really important factors for developing economies and societies in general.

Entrepreneurs can change the way we live and work. If successful, their innovations may improve our standard of living, create wealth and jobs as well as the conditions for a prosperous society.

Many of us hear the word entrepreneur and think of the brave individual who forgoes a career in an established organization to pursue a new and potentially risky venture. But entrepreneurship can also be thought of more broadly as a distinctive style of business leadership.

Indeed, we can think of a definition of entrepreneurial leadership, with its focus on creating and seizing opportunity, as a foundation for understanding how to build, organize and lead successful, innovative businesses of any age or size.

The DBS Online Diploma in Entrepreneurship is suitable for everyone who wants to learn the skills required to succeed in this field. Students will gain an understanding of decision-making under uncertainty, the variations in strategy among individuals when there is no “right” or “wrong” path, and then some guidance about the sorts of trade-offs various decisions and strategies engender. The course is taught in recorded weekly scheduled classes, using a cloud based app that works on any device. In addition students will have access to the Moodle learning management system that brings the class and teacher together for activities and access to resources.

In this course we introduce these multiple learning objectives in a powerful way, giving students all the different skills required to become a successful entrepreneur.

Startups where entrepreneurs work are different from larger firms, and often encounter unstructured and difficult problems that are not as well-defined as the strategy issues faced by established organizations.

Great entrepreneurs can be gregarious or low-key, analytical or intuitive, charismatic or boring, good with details or terrible, delegators or control freaks. What they all need is a capacity to execute projects in certain key ways.” It is important to note that evidence shows that entrepreneurial activities and the entrepreneurial mind-set can be learned.

Programme Aims and Objectives

Students who complete our DBS Online Diploma in Entrepreneurship should be able to:

• Understand the process entrepreneurs use to generate ideas for new businesses and shape them into opportunities supported by a business model
• Recognise and learn the core competencies required to become and effective entrepreneurial leader
• Design a business plan and pitching opportunities
• Evaluate the importance of effective management of the project life cycle
• Be able to understand and evaluate how to finance an entrepreneurial venture
• Attract, recruit, motivate and retain talent as well as building an ecosystem in an entrepreneurial context
• Develop a marketing and selling plan specifically for the entrepreneurial venture

Assessment

To meet the requirements of the DBS Online Diploma in Entrepreneurship, a student will be required to complete an individual assignment and an online group project.

DBS Student Facilities

• Online Learning Environment – is an eLearning system designed to provide you with a range of course material, interactive education sessions, and is home to your virtual online classroom which will enhance and support your learning experience within DBS.
• DBS Online Library – The Online Library provides a programme of introductory videos and virtual classroom sessions in the areas of Library resources, essay writing skills, avoiding plagiarism and referencing to assist you in your studies. These will be facilitated through the DBS Online Learning Environment prior to your commencement on the Diploma programme.
• DBS Virtual Community of Learners – You will become part of DBS Online’s Virtual Community of Learners where you can network and share with your fellow online students.

Course Content

• Business Opportunities – Understand the process entrepreneurs use to generate ideas for new businesses and shape them into opportunities supported by a business model.
• Business Plans – Entrepreneurs are called on daily to explain the business opportunity they are pursuing to potential customers, partners, suppliers, advisers, investors, and employees, it is therefore essential for them to know how to develop and pitch a business plan.
• Becoming an Entrepreneurial Leader – The essential character of entrepreneurial leadership, not simply as the set of activities devoted to starting a new venture but as a broader style of business leadership.
• Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures – Introduction to the key issues involved in the financing of entrepreneurial enterprises. This unit will additionally explain how entrepreneurs can adjust business models to match financial conditions, and how they can reduce financing needs through alternative models such as partnerships.
• Building a Team – An entrepreneur needs a reliable team for the successful implementation of a new venture. This unit will introduce the key tools to build a team, attract key hires, and deal with conflicts as ventures grow.
• Selling and Marketing in the Entrepreneurial Venture – Selling and marketing are essential entrepreneurial and an entrepreneur must focus on revenue from the very earliest days onward.

Structure

The DBS Online Diploma in Entrepreneurship will be run wholly online including workshops, tutorials and programme assessment.

Technical Requirements for DBS Online Diploma Programmes

The virtual learning environment that we use to deliver these programmes is centred around two applications – Moodle (a learning management system) and Zoom (an online classroom).

Moodle provides the information about the course, the lecturer and the timetable. You will find materials and activities here, as well as links to the live sessions

Zoom is an online collaboration tool that enables both the lecturer and the students to interact with each other and the materials being presented on the whiteboard

To use Moodle you will need:

• A desktop or laptop PC or Mac, a tablet, iPad or mobile phone
• Any internet browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer, Safari etc.) or either the Apple or Android app for your tablet, iPad or mobile phone
• Materials are normally PDF, Word or PowerPoint documents. If you do not already have apps that can open these files, these can be made freely available to you for the duration of the course

For the live classes in Zoom it is important that you are able to both see and hear the class, and to be able to interact with the other participants. For this you will need to have:

• A microphone
• Speakers
• A webcam

Most modern devices come with all of these built in. If yours does not have all of these (or it is broken) there are a few options you can explore:

• • Use the Zoom app on your mobile phone to attend classes
  • Purchase an external webcam with a built in microphone (these are available from around €15)
  • Purchase a headset with a microphone (also around €15)
  • Use a combination or your PC and phone by dialling in to the Zoom session for the audio (numbers available for most countries).

Career Progression Opportunities

On completion of this programme, students will have acquired the knowledge and skills required to aid them in either starting out or developing their career as entrepreneurs. The programme will also provide students with an opportunity of connecting the learning points of the programme with their own experience and work environment. For some students, this programme is also a gateway to further entrepreneurship studies.

Student Profile

Having an idea is just the first step in an entrepreneurial journey. Turning that idea into a compelling opportunity requires analytical capabilities, passion, and determination. Successful entrepreneurs know how to take their ideas and shape them into opportunities to create value for all stakeholders.

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. While it can yield professional achievement, independence and financial success, it can also take time, energy and sacrifice.

You do not need to have owned a company before following this path successfully, but there are certain skills and attributes that may be helpful in order to succeed.

• • Independence
  • Responsibility
  • Wiliness to Learn
  • Persistence
  • Communication
  • Convincing attitude and confidence

Fees

The fee for this online diploma is €1,500. This is inclusive of tuition, registration and DBS library online membership. This fee must be paid in full before the course begins.

Next Steps

Apply here or contact us by email or phone +353 (1) 4177500.