Outline

Overview

This unit presents students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge and hone foundational skills in innovation and entrepreneurship: creativity and ideation; design thinking and empathy; opportunity framing, identification and construction; experimentation and hypothesis validation; systems thinking; critical thinking; project management; and networking skills. The unit introduces various frameworks and processes for developing ideas and opportunities into viable business/social venture concepts; and requires students to apply them. The unit requires students to engage with the disciplines and industries/sectors in which they are interested, where they actively search for and construct opportunities. Students are introduced to and work with the Business, Lean and Impact-Gap Canvas frameworks. At the completion of this unit, students have a 'bank' of business/social venture opportunities ready for further validation and development as well as an insights map of their own understanding and knowledge of their chosen discipline or industry.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	Students must meet the entry requirements for the Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Advanced Coursework) including completion of a pass undergraduate degree
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	SIEN1001
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Sandris Zeivots, sandris.zeivots@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2026

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length	Use of AI
Written work	Authentic Problem Statement Examining a problem statement by analysing an authentic interview.	15%	Week 04 Due date: 19 Mar 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 29 Mar 2026	700 words (+/- 10%).	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Written work	Innovation Workbook Innovation workbook showcasing the learning journey.	35%	Week 08 Due date: 23 Apr 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 03 May 2026	2,000 words (+/- 10%).	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Innovation Project Report: Poster and Pitch Presentation of the problem space and group-generated solution.	35%	Week 13 Due date: 27 May 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 06 Jun 2026	12-15 minute presentation	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Contribution	Sustainable Engagement and Professional Learning Class participation + attendance + peer feedback	15%	Weekly	n/a	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Authentic Problem Statement: Based on research and an authentic interview, you are required to examine an issue that leads to a clear problem statement. The main objectives of this assessment are to evaluate your ability to analyse and articulate ideas and insights.

Innovation Workbook: In a creative and engaging workbook format, you will showcase your innovation learning journey and personal development sparked during the unit. Specifically, you will write a reflection focusing on one of the ‘powerful practices’ introduced in the unit, analysing how applying the practice can improve your capability as an innovator or entrepreneur.

Innovation Project Report: Poster and Pitch: In groups, you will present a visual report that captures your understanding of a grand challenge and proposes an innovative or entrepreneurial solution that will contribute to addressing the challenge.

Sustainable Engagement and Professional Learning - Overall contribution demonstrated throughout the semester, including engagement with the Canvas site, quality of peer-review feedback, active participation in class discussions, and meaningful contributions to group work and professional learning group activities.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75 - 84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Credit	65 - 74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50 - 64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Late penalties will be applied per University policy.

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM) which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Preparing for success: We explore the goals of innovation and entrepreneurship, and consider impactful practices to achieve those goals using different design approaches and tools.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 02	Working together to innovate: We examine the importance of impactful teams and collaboration in supporting the design of innovation and entrepreneurship. We consider the skills, mindsets, and tools needed to become a successful collaborative innovation leader. We also learn about the importance of co-design in developing engaging and sustainable ideas.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 03	Exploring the ‘problem’ space: We learn about the design process and how to apply its tools and approaches to understand an innovation problem area through primary and secondary research.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 04	Design thinking and human-centred innovation: We explore ‘designerly’ approaches, specifically design thinking, to understand the importance of design in co-creating engaging and insightful ideas. We will learn about human-centred mindsets and the roles we adopt in groups and society so that we can better realise our co-creative potential.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 05	Feedback and feed-forward. We engage in receiving feedback, sense-making and collective feed-forward to influence actions towards the opportunity space. We also have a chance to reach out to the people affected thereby forming our customer persona.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 06	Distilling insights and solution opportunity: We learn how to gain an understanding of the needs, drivers and journeys of the ‘users’ for whom we are innovating and entrepreneuring by identifying research patterns and trends. We continue using design methods to explore the desirability, viability and feasibility of possible holistic, innovative solutions that meet user needs and are sustainable and implementable.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 07	Generating valued ideas: We explore approaches to ideating a range of potential solutions to users’ problems, including how to develop a compelling value proposition for customers.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 08	Innovation and object-based learning: We explore a variety of innovations through object-based learning as analytical grounding throughout history. We critically examine which innovations and prototypes were or were not sustainable, human-centred and socially impactful.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 09	Rapidly prototyping solutions: We discover how to translate insights about users into concepts, prototypes and minimum viable products. We also learn about agile methodologies for managing innovation projects.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 10	Business model generating and implementing Innovations: We learn about business models and how organisations create and capture value in exchange for addressing users’ needs. We learn how to turn ideas into actionable plans with tools that help us prioritise features, allocate resources and outline the steps necessary to bring an innovative solution to market.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 11	Communicating innovation and entrepreneurial visions: We learn about the essentials of an entrepreneurial pitch, including the importance of storytelling and embedding narrative into pitches of innovations and new ventures.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 12	Revisiting the innovators’ toolbox: We revisit, in brief, the tools and actions covered during the unit and consider how our learnings might shape and feature in our final project presentations.	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 13	Presenting at the Project Fair: We showcase the results of students hard work throughout the unit, putting to use their entrepreneurial communication skills, like story-telling, pitching and presenting, and getting feedback from instructors and peers and the opportunity to learn from their peers' journeys and results.	Workshop (3 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Bernstein, E., Gino, F., & Staats, B. (2014). Opening the valve: From software to hardware (A) (Harvard Business School Case No. 415-015). Harvard Business School.
Brown, B. (2012). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead (pp. 31–56). Avery.
Catmull, E. (2008). How Pixar fosters collective creativity. Harvard Business Review, 86(5), 65–72.
Crilly, N. (2025). Critical thinking, creative thinking, systems thinking and many more: A comparative bibliometric analysis of prevalence and distribution. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 59, 102014.
Duhigg, C. (2016). What Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team. The New York Times.
Elias, S. R. S. T. A., Chiles, T. H., & Crawford, B. (2021). Entrepreneurial imagining: How a small team of arts entrepreneurs created the world’s largest traveling carillon. Organization Studies.
Gino, F. (2019). Cracking the code of sustained collaboration. Harvard Business Review, 97(6), 72–81.
Hastings, R., & Meyer, E. (2020). No rules rules: Netflix and the culture of reinvention (Section One: First steps to a culture of freedom and responsibility). Penguin Press.
Itzchakov, G., & Kluger, A. N. (2018). The power of listening in helping people change. Harvard Business Review, 17, 2–7.
Jackson, M. C. (2025). The future of systems thinking through the lens of action research and critical systems practice. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 42(5), 1377–1390.
Massa, P. (2021). Entrepreneurship in the wild. MIT Press.
Murray, F., & Johnson, E. (2021). Innovation starts with defining the right constraints. Harvard Business Review.
Örnekoğlu-Selçuk, M., Emmanouil, M., Hasirci, D., Grizioti, M., & Van Langenhove, L. (2024). A systematic literature review on co-design education and preparing future designers for their role in co-design. CoDesign, 20(2), 351–366.
Razzouk, R., & Shute, V. (2012). What is design thinking and why is it important? Review of Educational Research, 82(3), 330–348.
Reeves, M., Goodson, B., & Whitaker, K. (2021). The power of anomaly: To achieve strategic advantage scan the market for surprises. Harvard Business Review.
Rösch, N., Tiberius, V., & Kraus, S. (2023). Design thinking for innovation: Context factors, process, and outcomes. European Journal of Innovation Management, 26(7), 160–176.
Sinek, S. (n.d.). Why good leaders make you feel safe [Video]. TED.
The Way We Work, a TED series. (n.d.). The secret to giving great feedback [Video]. TED.
Heffernan, M. (n.d.). Forget the pecking order at work [Video]. TED.
Zeivots, S., Cram, A., & Wardak, D. (2023). Developing project management principles by examining codesign practices in innovative contexts. Project Management Journal, 54(6), 651–664.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Identify and research a social problem or grand challenge as an entrepreneur and innovator, and examine it to discover potential business, technological, social development or cultural opportunities that demonstrate creativity and innovation.
LO2. Explore and apply design methods that provide creative and innovative means in entrepreneurship and society.
LO3. Research and design individually and collectively to productively develop a viable opportunity.
LO4. Communicate promising evidence-based business, technological, social development or cultural opportunities.
LO5. Identify and describe the upcoming actions in a sustainable and future-oriented way.
LO6. Research perspectives, lived experiences and evaluations from customers, users, stakeholders and/or experts and consolidate learnings.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The unit has been separated from the SIEN1001 unit.

Additional information

Business School Policies

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

BUSS4908: Innovator's Skills and Actions

Semester 1, 2026 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links