Name: Dr Allan O'Connor

Short Bio:
Email: allan.oconnor@adelaide.edu.au

Tour departure:
Thursday 17th September 2015

Tour return:
Friday 2nd October 2015

Additional Information for JAPAN:

This is a 15 day intensive study tour to Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kyoto to provide students insight into the Japanese and  entrepreneurial culture and characteristics. With a focus on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, students will be exposed to the complexities and challenges of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Japanese context. The tour will include a series of lectures
featuring prominent Japanese guest speakers providing a local context. Tours will be scheduled to both start-up and large corporations to gain a perspective on how innovation and entrepreneurship varies by the nature of its context. Students will have the opportunity to explore entrepreneurship with a diverse range of entrepreneurial stakeholders from student peers, university
professors, progressive entrepreneurs, industry innovation managers and government sponsors of entrepreneurship and innovation. The key learning is to identify how each actor in an entrepreneurial ecosystem play's an important role in building social and economic dynamism that is characteristic of entrepreneurial communities.

Examples of Field Trip and Industry Visit

•      Entrepreneurial firms, Universities and Government Agencies
•      Industry eg Mazda Innovation and Technology Development
•      Cultural and Tourist Experiences e.g. Sumo wrestling, Kinkakuji Temple, Peace Museum and many more.

This course is designed as a tour of discovery. We leave Australia with no particular agreed expectations about Japan as an entrepreneurial ecosystem but aware of its significance as a world economy. During the tour we will discuss what an  entrepreneurial ecosystem is and explore the various aspects of it through a series of lectures, discussions, meetings and site visits. As the tour progresses we will build a view of an entrepreneurial ecosystem and how it is characterised in Japan.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course students will:
1.    Experience a culture, rich in tradition and convention to identify the driving forces for an the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

2.    Gain an understanding of the entrepreneurial process and the importance of place for new venture start-up and growth.

3.    Identify how an entrepreneurial ecosystem specifically supports the establishment and growth of new ventures.

4.    Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the main components of an entrepreneurial ecosystem and how Japan differs to western styled entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Library Resources
The University of Adelaide’s Barr Smith Library provides a range of learning resources including texts, journals, periodicals, magazines, and access to online databases and information services. It also offers a virtual library which is accessible via the University’s website. The University Library web page is: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/
From this link, you are able to access the Library's electronic resources.

MyUni is the University of Adelaide's online learning environment. It is used to support traditional face-to-face lectures, tutorials and workshops at the University. MyUni provides access to various features including announcements, course materials, discussion boards and assessments for each online course of study (see: https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au)

This course is offered in blended learning mode with the face-to-face component offered as intensives.

As a guide, a 3 unit course comprises a total of 156 hours work (this includes face-to-face contact, any online components, and self-directed study).

This is a draft schedule and session dates are a guide only. The timetable may be changed during the course delivery if necessary.

Learning Activities Summary

Session	Date	Topic	Readings/Activities
PD	see MyUni	Pre-Departure Background	OECD Economic Survey of Japan GEM 2014 Global Report Isenberg (2010)
1	see MyUni	Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: An Overview	Hwang & Horowitt, (2012) Ch 1. Audretsch (2015) Chs 1 & 2 O’Connor & Reed (2015)
2	see MyUni	The Factors and Resources of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems	Audretsch (2015) Ch 3
3	see MyUni	Opportunity Spotting: A Practical Exercise in Ecosystem Alertness	Hwang & Horowitt, (2012) Ch 2. Zahra & Nambisan (2012)
4	see MyUni	Industry Dynamics	Audretsch (2015) Ch 4 Gilbert (2003)
5	see MyUni	Stakeholder Perspectives and Objectives	Bryson (2004) Hwang & Horowitt, (2012) Ch 3 Audretsch (2015) Ch 5
6	see MyUni	Government’s Role in an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem	Audretsch (2015) Ch 6 O’Connor (2013) Fuerlinger, Fandl, & Funke, (2015)
7	see MyUni	Management of Technology	MIT Technology Review (2014)
8	see MyUni	Availability of Finance	Hwang & Horowitt, (2012) Ch 7
9	see MyUni	Developing Entrepreneurship	Audretsch (2015) Ch 7 Hwang & Horowitt, (2012) Chs 4 (Pts 1&2), 5 &
WD	see MyUni	Wrap-up and de-brief	Discussion Over Dinner

An overview of the course assessment appears in the following Table. Details appear in the following section:

Assessment No.	Form of Assessment/ Collaborative Task	Length (in word count)	Weighting	Due Date	Learning Outcome
1	Facebook Contribution (Individual Assignment)	Min 150 words per post and three posts (no maximum applies)	10%	Duration of tour	1 & 2
2	Opportunity Context Analysis (Team Assignment)	2000 words	30%	see MyUni	2 & 3
3	Contrasting Ecosystems	3500 words	60%	see MyUni	2 & 5
	Total			100%

Students must complete all course assessment requirements.

Course results are subject to moderation by the ECIC Board of Examiners

Assessment 1: Facebook Contribution 
Weighting: 10%
Due Date: Duration of Tour
Submission Details: Blogs are to be posted to: https://www.facebook.com/ecicstudytour


Task:
Across the study tour you are required to contribute posts to the ECIC Facebook Study Tour site (link above). These posts are to share, not only your experiences of the Study Tour but also the positive attributes of Japan that you can identify as possibly contributing to the development of Japan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. No negative comments please, we do not wish to offend our host country, but suggestions on how the particular attribute you identify can or could be beneficial is the objective. The site will be moderated and any inappropriate posts will be promptly removed.

The more posts you make and the more insight you offer on positive aspects the better your grade for this assignment. The best posts will be adopted for the Formal ECIC Blog on the study tour.

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics 1 through 9 (as you select).

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in the form of a minimum of three posts of 150 words each.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
The posts should reflect academic standards worthy of a University of Adelaide student. The assignment will be assessed on the basis of:
• Presentation and clear language;
• Identification of a positive attribute for Japan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,
• Clear reasoning for why the attribute is or could be beneficial to Japan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem;

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1): 1 and 2

Assessment 2: Opportunity Context Analysis 
Weighting: 30%
Due Date: see MyUni
Submission Details: Online through MyUni.

Task:
Session 3 will involve Opportunity Spotting, like a treasure hunt if you like. In the morning we will meet and discuss opportunity spotting and creativity techniques before we spend the day in teams looking for idea stimuli. By late afternoon of that day your team, of no more than 4, will meet and select an opportunity to use for this team assignment. The objective is to identify a potential business (either social or commercial) that has been inspired by your Japanese experience. Your perceived business opportunity will be presented and discussed over dinner that night.

The task for this assignment is to assume you will start this business venture in a country of your choice. Over the period of the study tour we will be considering different aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Using this knowledge, your team is to prepare a report that considers how your chosen business opportunity will be influenced by the various aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in your chosen country of start-up. This is not about assessing whether the business opportunity is a good idea or not but rather it is about assessing whether and how the ecosystem may support or de-stabilise the business opportunity. A better report will also address the how obstacles in the entrepreneurial ecosystem could be overcome.

During the de-brief dinner on the 30th September a synopsis of your Team’s Opportunity Context Analysis will be presented and discussed for informal feedback.

Scope: This assignment will assess your understanding of the session topics 2 through 8.

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in report format. The minimum length will be 2,000 words plus references and appendices as deemed necessary. Maximum word count will be 125% of the minimum.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
• The extent of coverage of the aspects that characterise an entrepreneurial ecosystem
• The level of detail provided that demonstrates understanding of how an entrepreneurial ecosystem may influence a new business venture start-up.
• Evidence of critical thinking about the issues and concepts.
• Logical flow, structure and sequence of presenting your findings.
• Overall presentation including clarity of expression, good use of language, correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and referencing.

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1): 2 and 3


Assessment 3: Contrasting Ecosystems 
Weighting: 60%
Due Date: see MyUni
Submission Details: Online through MyUni

Task:
This assessment item is an individual assignment that focuses explicitly and holistically on the entrepreneurial ecosystem topic. Using the material provided in this course and other references that you may source on your own, you are required to:
 Briefly describe the various aspects of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
 Describe how your own experience throughout the study tour has provided insight into these various aspects of the Japanese entrepreneurial ecosystem
 Provide your own research to describe Adelaide’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as a western example
 Compare your findings of the two ecosystems to contrast the strengths, weaknesses of each ecosystem.
 Choose one primary aspect for development of each ecosystem and justify why development of this aspect would be beneficial to improving the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem in each respective place

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the session topics 2 to 9.

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in a report format. The minimum length will be 3,500 words plus references and appendices as deemed necessary. Maximum word count will be 125% of the minimum.

The assignment will need to demonstrate appropriate use of references using preferably the APA Referencing System. Guidelines can be found under the heading ‘Referencing Style Guides and Academic Writing’ at http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
The report will be judged on its structure, presentation, content, integration and synthesis of course materials.

The standards by which the assignment will be assessed include:
• The extent of coverage of the aspects that characterise an entrepreneurial ecosystem
• The depth of reflection on your study tour experience with respect to the Japanese entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• The range of research conducted to support your observations and arguments
• Evidence of critical analysis of the issues and concepts.
• Overall presentation including, clarity of expression and good use of language, correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and referencing, logical structure and sequence of presenting your findings.

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1): 2 and 5

All text based assignments must be submitted via MyUni.
Please refer to step by step instructions: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/tutorials/files/AssignmentStudentSubmission.pdf

There are a few points to note about the submission of assignments:

• Assignment Submission: Assignments should not be emailed to the instructor but should be lodged via the MyUni Course site. Note that assignments may be processed via TURNITIN which is an online plagiarism prevention tool.

• Cover Sheet: Please submit, separate to your assignment, the completed University of Adelaide Assessment Cover Sheet providing details of yourself and your team members (if applicable), your assignment, the course, date submitted, etc. as well as the declaration signed by you that this is your (your team’s) work. Note that the declaration on any electronically submitted assignment will be deemed to have the same authority as a signed declaration.

• Backup Copy of Assignments: You are advised to keep a copy of your assignments in case the submitted copy goes missing. Please ensure that all assignment pages are numbered. If your assignment contains confidential information, you should discuss any concerns with the Course Lecturer prior to submission.

• Extensions of Time: Any request for an extension of time for the submission of an assignment should be made well before the due date of the assignment to the Course Lecturer. Normally, extensions will only be granted for a maximum of two weeks from the original assignment submission date. Extensions will only be granted in cases of genuine extenuating circumstances and proof, such as a doctor’s certificate, may be required.

• Failure to submit: Failure to submit an assignment on time or by the agreed extension deadline may result in penalties and may incur a fail grade. Note that a late penalty of 5% of the total available marks for that assessment item will be incurred each day an assignment is handed in late. Assignments handed in after 14 days from the due submission date will fail even if a 100% mark is granted for the work.

Resubmission & Remarking
Resubmission of an assignment for remarking after reworking it to obtain a better mark will not normally be accepted. Approval for resubmission will only be granted on medical or compassionate grounds.

Gifts and Tokens of Appreciation
Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the University has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment.

Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their Supervisor/Manager, who will refer them for action under the University's student disciplinary procedures.