Venture capital and entrepreneurial management: developing an inter-disciplinary course to support HKtech 300 

Description

Invention and innovation are driven forces of economic growth and social development. CityU has launched the flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme HKtech300, which aims to help students transfer their creative ideas into start-up projects. Commercializing innovative ideas often require entrepreneurs to collaborate with financial markets, especially venture capital markets. Therefore, it is vital to empower students with knowledge of the rules and practices of venture capital industries. Surprisingly, such a crucial component is missing in our current curriculum. This proposed project aims to fill this void by including entrepreneurial management and venture capital in undergraduate teaching. A creative teaching method, i.e., “simulation-based case study,” will be employed. Students will simulate fundraising as entrepreneurs, evaluating potential projects as venture capitalists, and negotiating structured deals. An innovative assessment method is adopted to encourage student-led discovery activities. Students who seek to open start-up firms (i.e., potential entrepreneurs) and students interested in starting a career in the venture capital industry will benefit tremendously from this project.