Module SGIA40B15: Defence Engagement and Entrepreneurship

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA40B15: Defence Engagement and Entrepreneurship

Prerequisites

• SGIA42515 Defence, Development and Diplomacy.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide students with a deep knowledge and understanding of the nature of defence engagement;
• To equip students with a range of methodological tools focused around Lean Start-up principles that can be applied to the defence sector · To provide high quality experiential learning by working on a real-world problem;
• To provide students with the means to critically assess the value and relevance of methodological tools as they relate to specific problems;
• To help students develop a problem-solving skills that can be used in a range of other contexts.

Content

• Defence Engagement and Entrepreneurship (DEE) is an interdisciplinary module that provides students with the opportunity to work with defence and security sector providers to better address contemporary challenges. The module is an applied one that sees students form groups of teams that engage directly with complex, “real-world” challenges , proposed by UK government sponsors. DEE covers policy, economics, technology, and other areas needed to address the sponsors’ proposed real world challenges.
• In the module, students will be assigned a team and a specific policy or practice challenge. Each team will be provided with a range of relevant methodological tools and techniques that can be used to develop a response to this challenge. These tools and techniques involve Lean Start-Up principles and mode of problem-solving. As the module progresses, student teams will be required to discover and validate the sponsor’s needs and to continually build iterative prototypes to assess how well they understand their assigned challenge, as well as their ability to develop a plausible solution/response to it. The module will involves close engagement with government agency end-users, using their real-world challenges.
• The module is designed to give the experience of working as a team and turn an idea into a solution to a specific real-world challenge.
• In addition to classroom time, the module’s demands include 10 hours of interviews per week (per group) as well as course reading, and flipped lectures. An illustrative list of topics covered in the lectures includes: Introduction to Mission Model Canvas; Beneficiaries and Stakeholders; Mission Budget and Operating Plan; Interview Processes and Ethics. Students will also need to be available for one session of interview training and ethics as well as a team meeting.

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of this module, students will have acquired advanced knowledge and understanding of:
• Entrepreneurial methodologies, rooted in Lean Start-Up principles and the Mission Model Canvas;
• The application of Lean Start-Up principles to real-world problems, and how to develop and test hypotheses as a problem-solving technique; ·
• The national security and defence domain.

• By the end of the module students should be able to:
• Apply the Lean Start-Up methodology.

• Students will develop important key skills, suitable for underpinning study at this and subsequent levels, such as:
• Develop interview skills, through weekly interviews, whether in person, by phone or video-call;
• Gather, organise, evaluate and interpret information from a variety of sources;
• Make use of constructive feedback to achieve progression in understanding, methods and judgement;
• Develop and apply entrepreneurial and key professional/transferable skills including: teamwork; complex problem-solving; building professional networks; market research;
• Gain specialised and empirically based knowledge and understanding of a complex problem;
• Engage in critical analysis, independent judgment, complex problem solving, team coordination, and oral and written presentation to a level commensurate with taught postgraduate study;
• Critically engage with a wide body of literature and concepts;
• Develop informed and critical judgement;
• Manage the individual learning process as well as the ability to work as a part of a team;
• Presenting complex ideas in a concise format.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• This one term module is based on a flipped classroom model which aims to maximise student engagement during class time.
• Students are required to watch the weekly lecture and to prepare for each class by reading/viewing the recommended resources. The information in the weekly lectures and readings will allow students to complete their interviews, and provide essential material to support student presentations and discussion in seminars.
• Students will spend a significant amount of time conducting interviews related to their project. The interviews will involve parts of the “Mission Model Canvas” (MMC); a visual tool and framework developed to rapidly test hypotheses against solutions for government issues. Using this tool supports student understanding of what start-ups and entrepreneurship entail, including an appreciation of the need to take conceptually-sound decisions amidst uncertainty, challenging deadlines, and often conflicting input. The MMC also helps students demonstrate the progress they have made.
• The module involves a number of assessment types that contribute to the learning outcome of the module.
• Demonstration/evidence of interviews undertaken via a learning log: Individual and Group Work to comprise 10 per cent of total marks available; checked weekly by module convenor in seminars. This matches the learning outcomes of developing hypotheses; understanding defence engagement; developing and implementing interview skills and reflecting on different interview techniques; and managing the individual learning process as well as the ability to work as a part of a team.
• Demonstration of the weekly iterations to the Mission Model Canvas, including the final Mission Model Canvas at the end of term: Group Work to comprise 50 per cent of total marks available; checked weekly by module convenor in seminars and then final MMC to be reviewed at end of module. This matches the learning outcomes of the application of learn start-up methodologies to real world problems; developing and testing hypotheses as a problem-solving technique; effectively using materials from interviews and academic literature; gathering, organising, evaluating and interpreting information from a variety of sources; making use of constructive feedback to achieve progression in understanding, methods and judgement.
• A 1,500 word reflective type essay that narrates the journey of the lean start-up from inception to ‘final product’: Individual Work comprising 30 per cent of total marks available. To be submitted at the end of the module. This matches the learning outcomes of gathering, organising, evaluating and interpreting information from a variety of sources; gaining specialised and empirically based knowledge and understanding of a complex problem; engaging in critical analysis and independent judgment; critically engaging with a wide body of literature and concepts; and developing informed and critical judgement.
• A two minute video presentation of the ‘end product’ of the lean start-up as if presented to the client/end-user. This involves a self-made/edited video that presents and/or visualises the result of the lean start-up initiative: Individual Work comprising 10 per cent of the total marks available. To be submitted at the end of the module. This matches the learning outcomes of demonstrating knowledge of defence engagement issues; and presenting key ideas in a concise format.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University