WOOD 200 (3) Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Forest Products Industry

Course description

This course introduces you to the theory of innovation and entrepreneurship and their practical implementation. Centered around a mixture of theoretical exploration as well as case studies of real-world examples and guest lectures in the forest products industry, you will develop an understanding of successes, opportunities and risks of innovation and entrepreneurship. You will also develop skills in written business communication and oral presentations that allow you to integrate innovation and entrepreneurship concepts and interact with business experts.
Syllabus is provided on the course portal.

Course learning objectives

At the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Explore and experience the joy of creating unique solutions to market opportunities in the forest products industry

2. Create and exploit innovative business ideas and market opportunities in the forest products industry

3. Turn market opportunities into a business plan

4. Build a mindset focusing on developing novel and unique approaches to market opportunities in the forest products industry

5. Demonstrate and present successful work, collaboration and division of tasks in a multidisciplinary and multicultural team

6. Demonstrate understanding and application of the tools necessary to create sustainable and viable forest products businesses

In terms of skills

• Use appropriate referencing and bibliographic methods

• Demonstrate effective oral presentation skills

• Demonstrate effective and integrative teamwork

In terms of attitudes, develop

• critical attitudes, which are necessary for “life-long learning”

• an attitude of open-mindedness and self-critical reflection with a view to self-improvement

• an open attitude towards multi-cultural teamwork

Course material

• There is no required text book for the course.

• Topics will be covered using a variety material from influential sources such as peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and TED Talk. These will be available on the course portal.