What will I learn on this module?
The module aims to provide you with knowledge and skills regarding the application of digital technologies in support of entrepreneurial activities, across the different stages of the entrepreneurial process (opportunity identification, start-up and scale-up). The module is delivered using interactive workshops, supported by an interactive discussion board, tutor supported, but permitting interaction with fellow students.
This module will cover the main aspects of the relationship between digital technologies and entrepreneurship:
• Opportunities and challenges of digital technologies for entrepreneurs,
• The skillset of digital entrepreneurs: entrepreneurial and digital skills,
• The impact of digital technologies on the creation and recognition of entrepreneurial opportunities,
• The start-up of digital enterprises: value creation, business models and funding strategies,
• The scale-up of digital enterprises: strategies to deal with regulation, competition and barriers to growth.
The module will lead you to the development of fundamental, contemporary skills for creating and developing digital enterprises. On completing the module, you will learn about the specific challenges of undertaking entrepreneurial activities in the context of digital markets and acquire the skills to develop effective strategies to build sustainable digital enterprises.
How will I learn on this module?
You will learn through taught online workshops, tutor guidance and feedback, and independent directed and self-directed learning. Importantly, you will also learn from your experience of professional practice, through reflecting on your experiences and applying your knowledge from the module to practices in the workplace. The workshops will introduce you to theories and concepts and allow you to discuss with the tutors and your peers (via the discussion board and Blackboard Collaborate) how these relate to your own work-based experiences and practice. The workplace provides an opportunity for you to put your own knowledge and skills into practice and review your learning with peers and managers, as well as with fellow students via the module discussion board. This will improve your understanding on the different approach to develop digital interventions.
The interactive workshop sessions provided online via the module Blackboard portal will provide you with a theoretical underpinning of the module content, supported by online interactive discussion.
The module has a supporting reading list that provides you with an opportunity to see how theories from different areas of entrepreneurial and managerial studies (finance, marketing, competition, regulation, etc.) can be applied to build and enhance digital enterprises.
Your directed study will support the work you have undertaken in the interactive sessions. Independent learning time is set aside for learning activities, self-identified by you, to gain a deeper and broader knowledge of the subject. You may undertake further reading.
The continuous practical nature of the interactive workshops and the online discussion boards means that tutor (formative) feedback will be received continuously, via the online discussion board and Blackboard Collaborate. Discussion board evaluations, tutor and peer feedback and directed learning activity provide formative assessment.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
Your learning is supported by a Teaching and Learning Plan, offering guidance on reading to prepare for workshops and help with the completion of the assessment. Within this plan there are also suggested learning activities, which guide you in your independent learning. These activities allow you to reflect and evaluate your knowledge and skills and in this area. Throughout, the emphasis will be on high levels of student participation, both individually and within small groups or teams via the discussion board and Blackboard Collaborate. You can therefore expect the reflective-practitioner approach to learning to be embedded in all workshop sessions through undertaking activities which enable you to apply theory to 'real-life' situations, critically analysing and making recommendations for appropriate ways forward for the organization/individual.
Support will be provided to you by a member of academic staff leading the module and providing the interactive workshop input. The module tutor will support the online discussion board and may be contacted individually or by groups of students via the discussion board and Blackboard Collaborate. This support is part of the module’s e-learning portal, which houses workshop materials, case studies and how-to multimedia & text files.
You will also receive with a wide-ranging electronic reading list that comprises of various books, conference papers and journal articles that showcase the application of various enterprise skills in the module.
The module assessment consists of several inter-related tasks which will be distributed throughout your teaching semester, with ongoing discussion and support by means of the discussion board and Blackboard Collaborate. This will encourage your active participation in the learning process throughout the semester. Your work on these tasks will be the focus of your final enterprise report, representing 100% of the assessed work on this module.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
• MLO1: Understand the nature and process of digital entrepreneurship.
• MLO2: Understand and demonstrate the role of digital technologies throughout the stages of entrepreneurial projects.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• MLO3: Development of abilities associated with the digital entrepreneurship process and project management skills for future professional development.
• MLO4: Demonstrate and assess the effectiveness of communication in an entrepreneurial setting.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• MLO5: Understand ethical issues associated with digital technologies
How will I be assessed?
The summative assessment is an individual assignment which is a written business report on a case study of digital entrepreneurship (4,000 words) which is submitted at the end of the module. This assessment component is worth 100% of the module mark.
This assesses MLO1-MLO5 inclusive.
Formative assessment will take place through group work, assignment discussion and reflection, case study activity, and interactive (discussion board based) theory/practice related discussions.
Criteria will be provided to enable you to understand what is expected in the assignment and how you will be assessed on your performance.
Pre-requisite(s)
None
Co-requisite(s)
None
Module abstract
Digital Entrepreneurship is an innovative, contemporary subject area focused on students' interest in entrepreneurial projects. It adopts a variety of cutting edge technologies. You will learn the essentials of digital entrepreneurship process delivered through a series of interactive workshops, supported by online discussion with the module tutor and fellow students.
This module is focused on developing entrepreneurial and managerial skills in the context of digital entrepreneurship. Therefore, much more time is dedicated in the interactive workshops and supporting online discussions towards understanding the digital entrepreneurship process. Successful completion of this module will endow students with potential employability and entrepreneurial skills designed to differentiate them in the job market.
All activities contribute towards a final assessment, which a 4,000-word individual report is focused on a digital entrepreneurship case study.
Course info
Credits 20
Level of Study Postgraduate
Mode of Study 2 years Full Time with Advanced Practice
4 other options available
Department Newcastle Business School
Location City Campus, Northumbria University
City Newcastle
Start September 2025 or January 2026
All information is accurate at the time of sharing.
Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.
Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.
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