What can a team of designer undergraduates and a large bunch of business students do together if they have to create a business plan in a week while they do not even have a clear idea of the whole thing on Monday? We have tried the scenario! There was a lot of work, much excitement and laughter and even some drama at the first joint course of Budapest Business School and Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME). An introductory video shows what the first COLLAB course powered by Budapest LAB & MOME+ was like.
At Budapest LAB, we believe in the importance and power of collaboration. In the spirit of this, last December we launched a series of events called COLLAB powered by Budapest LAB & MOME+ (COLLAB #5: on 29th May!). The second step of the collaboration between the two universities was to organise an intensive joint course for the undergraduates of Budapest Business School and MOME. The aim of the course advertised for students entitled ‘Business Plan in a Week’ was to gain practical experience while working on real projects, and to see what processes and mindset can pave the way for a successful business venture. The course was elaborated and managed jointly by MOME’s Institute for Theoretical Studies and Design Institute along with Budapest Business School’s Budapest LAB – Entrepreneurship Centre.
Participating students first received an introduction to the method of design thinking, then, working in teams, they developed a business idea and elaborated its details with the help of the Business Model Canvas, which is a well-known method used in the strategy management market. The essence of the Model is about showing and summing up the business plan of a venture on one single page. The BMC template may be filled in by working alone; however, one can get the most out of it when participating and thinking over its elements in a workshop headed by an expert. The course offered an opportunity to experiment with the template. On the last day, the teams presented their plans in front of a group of external expert judges.
What was the course like? What was the atmosphere like and what were the main conclusions and lessons to draw? Watch the video.