Course content
There are three 5 ects courses on Research Based Business (RBB):
1) RBB Opportunities (RBBO) has a focus on understanding how to recognize and assess entrepreneurial business opportunities for research- and technology-based business.
2) RBB Planning (RBBP) has an experiential, inside-out approach, focusing on business planning as a basis for starting a new, science-based company;
3) RBB Ventures (RBBV) has a more conceptual, outside-in approach, exploring entrepreneurship and the process of new venture creation by studying cases illustrating the entrepreneurial process form various angles.
These three courses, with a course load of 5 ECTS each, can be followed together as well as independently from each other. All courses have one or more team assignments. The courses are intended for Master students (as an elective or as part of the SBB Specialisation), Ph.D. students, post-docs and others motivated for creating and working in research-based business. For this latter group, “light” versions of RBB Ventures and RBB Opportunities will be available. These versions have a minimized study load, thereby minimizing the interference with your research.
Course schedules
The courses will run from April 13 till June 26. The exam for RBB Opportunities will be on June 29, and the exam for Ventures will be on June 30.
RBB Opportunities
Plenary sessions will be on Monday afternoons. You will need to spend about an additional 0,5 to 1 day a week on team work and preparations for upcoming sessions. For full time RBB students, the allocated time for teamwork is Monday morning and Wednesdays are suggested days for additional self-study. With your team you are required to work at the university on Thursday afternoon, when progress meeting with SBB staff will take place. You are invited to join the “Interview with an Entrepreneur” part of the Ventures course that starts Thursdays af 16.00 hrs.
RBB Planning
Plenary sessions will be on Tuesday afternoons. In the plenary sessions, the theory for and progress with developing the various business plans is discussed and a guest speaker will talk about operational aspects of starting a company. You will need to spend an additional 0,5 to 1 day a week on team work and preparations for upcoming sessions. For full time RBB students, the allocated time for teamwork is Tuesday morning and Wednesdays are suggested days for additional self-study and preparing individual contributions to the business plan. With your team you are required to work at the university on Thursday afternoon, when progress meetings with SBB staff will take place. You are invited to join the “Interview with an Entrepreneur” – part of the Ventures course – that starts Thursdays af 16.00 hrs.
RBB Ventures
Plenary sessions will be on Thursday afternoon, starting 16.00 hrs, and on Friday afternoon starting 14.00 hrs. On Thursday afternoon the in-class interview takes place. Friday afternoon is for a case discussion and further instruction. Attending the sessions is mandatory. You will need to spend an additional 0,5 – 1 day a week on team work, preparations for upcoming sessions and self study. For full time RBB students, the allocated time for team preparation of the case assignments is Friday morning and Wednesdays are suggested days for additional self-study.
More information on each course can be found on the individual pages of
RBB Opportunities
RBB Planning
RBB Ventures
Why Research Based Business
Research Based Business (RBB) aims to lower the hurdles for students and researchers for getting involved in the process of starting high-tech ventures. The intention is to arm students and (future) researchers with the basic knowledge of how to spot, assess and exploit an entrepreneurial, research-based business opportunity. This knowledge will be valuable for those who aspire to one day start their own company or who want to become involved in the process of company creation and development as tech transfer managers, business developers, business advisors, investment managers or surrogate entrepreneurs.
More reasons why you should attend RBB can be found on the Science & Research Based Business website.
You can also read the testimonals by former participants Wouter Bruins and Oleg Guziy