2021T2 Virtual TSM/Course

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Overview of Project Course

Synopsis

All urges to travel have been squashed by the Covid bug! This difficult time is an opportunity to reflect and build from within. You will look in the mirror and ask yourself. What do you want to be? A space explorer? A professional gamer? A food taster? A chef? A gardener? An environmentalist? A do good-er? An inventor? An entrepreneur? A wonder women or superman? Instead of traveling to a destination to learn about these, we will explore every destination that interest us, virtually.

We will start with your interest, passion, need, or just toss a coin and start our journey on a clean slate. You will write your mission statement and research top startups any where in the world. Or if you prefer, choose from an existing list of foreign company projects (to be filled here). You will correspond and mingle with entrepreneurs and work on problems in a team. You will learn about their motivation, drive, experience, etc. and bring it to within. We will not just visit virtually, we will start and pitch your idea! All things must have a beginning and this class is the beginning.

We don't stop here. We will absorb the culture and people that interest you. Virtual visits to museums, theatres, sights, cultures, food and friends.

Objectives

This course will help

• Introduce students to the entrepreneurship scene in the country to visit.
• Students to develop an understanding of the factors and ecosystem leading to a start-up.
• Inspire student entrepreneurs to start their own venture.
• Students to understand how to start up with technology.
• Students to build relationships with the companies we will visit.

Teams

Student teams will be assigned to different organizations.

Output and Assessment Summary

Students will be assessed on both in class and during the trip activities and conduct. The grade break down and project descriptions are listed below.

Grade breakdown

The grade breakdown is listed below.

No	Time Frame	Topics	Assessment Type	Weighting
1	Pre-Trip	Research on Organization & SMU-XO problem	Team	40%
2		Plan trip/helping others	Individual	20%
3	Trip	Team lead on organization visit	Individual	10%
4		Trip role/helping others	Individual	10%
5		Reflection	Individual	10%
6	All	Wiki, Blog & Photos	Individual	10%

Assignment

Here are the assignments:

1. In class presentations and wiki report
   1. Teams are to research on selected or assigned organization.
      1. New York City: background, industry, culture, ecosystem, research universities, compare to Singapore, politics, aspiration, etc.
      2. The culture/trait could be connections (companies, country, customer focus), support environment (government, business, infrastructure, society, market maturity, reputation), personality/company culture (integrity, leadership, competitive, entrepreneurship, savvy, creative, innovative, dynamic, risk taking, commitment to technology, excellent communication, team spirit, fun seeking, etc.). Research on this by reading books, websites or interviews. Come up with examples of company events when this trait is vital to the company. Explore this trait in some of the organization we will visit.
      3. Organization: background, motivation, challenges, investments/employee stock ownership plan/intellectual property, strategy/business model/IPO, culture/personalities/politics/connections, etc. Students to prepare a company brief that is due before the trip.
      4. Organization and students to work on a mutually agreed problem statement, which will be beneficial to both our students and the companies
      5. SMU Library resources. You may contact XIA Wei <weixia@smu.edu.sg> if you need to get SMU library resources while doing your research.
   2. Teams will work on a problem from the company we will visit. This is part of the SMU-XO requirement that we will need to fulfil. Most of the work will be done before the trip (some are overlapping with the above research). However, the problem could also include some work while we are on the trip (eg, surveys, interviews, design testing, etc).
   3. Individual will be assessed based on the quality of your contributions in the role you play, getting organization, helping out with the trip planning and execution.
2. During the trip
   1. Teams will ask questions, when the opportunity presents itself. Each team will introduce their company, present the focus and recommend improvements. Each team will have a backup team to support them (taking photos, questions, follow up, etc)
   2. Individual will keep a journal/blog/diary/tweet (with video, photo, links, etc.) on the discussion and visits. Focus on learning points and reflections. Compile your journal in the individual reflection page.
3. Post trip Presentation
   1. Reflection on your research
   2. Key takeaways (2) or learning points from the organization
   3. Quotes from presenter/senior management/owner/founder
   4. Recommendation on how the trip can be improved further

Academic Integrity

All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation of acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with the academic work of other students) are serious offences. All work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be the student’s own work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the component assessment to expulsion, depending on the nature of the offense.

When in doubt, students should consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU Code of Academic Integrity may be accessed at http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html.

Classroom Planning

There will be several classroom meetings to organize the course, trip and research. Students will meet in classroom to present their research findings. The teams are required to update their progress using the wiki.

Course Schedule Summary

Class (Week)	Topics	Comments
1	Course introduction, team formation and organization assignment.	Roles, Teams and Organisation. Team and group photos.
2	Organization groupings for each team and trip planning	Trip itinerary and Organisation Grouping. Clarify problem statement.
6	Adjust organization grouping based on initial responses	Sector Research and Contact (reorganise grouping). Work on solution to problem statement
Week 8: Break.
11	Present organisation research and problem statement. (first come first serve)	Research result and business proposal/innovation
12	Present organisation research and problem statement. (as needed)
13	Finalise Trip itinerary and Organization (company brief due)	Last minute changes (flight, excursions, organization, forum, etc)
16	Trip briefing (Visa).	Preparing for the flight.
17	Trip	Visit organization and learn