Management track
Introduction
The Management track provides an introduction to general management theory and practice. It is for science students who consider employment opportunities in industry, and who are looking to acquire knowledge of business principles and training in managerial skills.
Who can join this track?
Students enrolled in any of the following Leiden masters programmes are automatically eligible to enrol in the SBB specialisation: mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, life science & technology, bio-pharmaceutical sciences, computer science, and biomedical sciences. Students enrolled in other masters programmes should check their eligibility with their programme’s study advisors.
Goal and objective
The goal of the track is that upon graduation, students will be better able to find an organisation and get a suitable position to start their career and be better able to function in a business environment.
The objective is that students will have sufficient insights, knowledge and skills in some of the fundamentals of business, and in particular also business that is science-based, to be able to reach that goal.
Content
The SBB Management track consists of 40-60 ECTS and comprises the following elements:
The mandatory courses of the SBB Management track are Strategy, Marketing, Financial Management, Technology and Operations Management, and Business Research Methods (20 ECTS). These courses are taught as a block and offered twice per year starting in September and in February. These courses are designed to familiarise students with the basic managerial toolbox and to provide an introduction to key concepts and frameworks across management subfields.
In addition to these mandatory courses, students can take courses from the SBB electives course portfolio, or of approved courses that are offered as electives elsewhere.
During the SBB Business Studies Internship (20-40 ECTS) students put into practice and further develop knowledge and skills learned in class. Students also become a subject matter expert in the field of the internship, and gain valuable experience towards the job market. Internships last between 4-7 months and can be done in the Netherlands or abroad. Examples of recent internship projects can be found on the SBB website.
Students may opt to write a Business Research Essay (10 ECTS). Depending on the essay topic, the project is supervised by an academic member of staff or an external mentor with specific industry expertise.
Teaching method and participation
The core of this track consists of “practicals” in the form of both individual and group assignments (case analysis, essay and report writing), case discussions, presentations, etc. These “practicals” are linked to and deal with the formal knowledge which is in the books, readers and notes you need to study. A typical day involves reading a case, analyzing it, also based on knowledge provided in articles and books, with your group preparing an answer (short essay or powerpoint presentation) to deal with the case issues and then finally a full group case discussion conducted by the lecturer who will also elaborae further on the formal knowledge you can extract from the case.
Because the “practicals” are the basis for the learning in this course, participation in all sessions is mandatory.
Schedule
This track is organised twice:
Exams and Grading
There are four formal individual tests for which you need to reach passing level to get a grade for the course. In addition, assessment of the group work, case preparation, participation in case discussions and the final report and presentation to be delivered are part of the grade . The final (relative) grading of this course is based on a weighted average of the grades of all tests and assignments.
Staff
Coordinating Lecturer:
Dr. S. Jong, professor of Science Based Business
Lecturers (subject to change):
Business Research Methods: Negin Salimi
Strategy: Simcha Jong
Marketing: Joe Goldiamond
Financial Management: Jan Kooiman
Technology & Operations Management: Xishu Li
Support:
Ariënne Bruin
Literature
Mandatory literature (subject to change):
Winer, R.S.: Marketing management. 4th Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN-13: 9780130387929.
Brealey R.A., Myers S.C. and A.J Marcus: Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, ISBN-13: 9780071314749.
Harvard Business Essentials: Managing Projects Large and Small: The Fundamental Skills to Deliver on Cost and Time by Harvard Business School Press (Compiler), Harvard Business Review (Editor)
Additional material: readers, cases, lecture hand-outs, articles.
Blackboard
For each course a separate blackboard space is created in which the students are enrolled by the course coordinator. Lecture notes, assignments, important announcements etc can be found there.
Application
Students can register for the courses within the track via uSis. Click here for instructions.
Organization
This track is organised by Science Based Business
New Technology Ventures track
Introduction
The New Technology Ventures (NTV) track is for students with the ambition to create and manage novel businesses around new technologies generated in research. It offers an integrated programme that teaches students know-how and skills they will need in commercialising such technologies. Students learn to manage the iterative process, through which an entrepreneur researches the market, evaluates the competition, looks for a suitable niche in the industry, finds out what the product should look like, determines how to sell, and at what price, etc. Case studies, guest lectures, and practical assignments in the NTV track build on SBB’s close ties to the surrounding entrepreneurial ecosystem of the Leiden BioScience Park, one of Europe’s leading high-tech clusters. Accordingly, the programme is geared towards applications in the life sciences (Health, Pharma and Biotech), with a side focus on the areas of instrumentation and data science.
Who can join this track?
Students enrolled in any of the following Leiden masters programmes are automatically eligible to enrol in the SBB specialisation: mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, life science & technology, bio-pharmaceutical sciences, computer science, and biomedical sciences. Students enrolled in other masters programmes should check their eligibility with their programme’s study advisors.
Goal and objective
New Technology Ventures 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.
Course content
The SBB NTV track consists of 40-60 ECTS and comprises of the following elements:
The mandatory courses of the New Technology Ventures track (15 ECTS) focus on 1) methods and frameworks that are used to frame, find and assess entrepreneurial business opportunities for new technology ventures, 2) the entrepreneurial process of creating technology-based companies, and the resources required to manage their early growth, and 3) key aspects of business planning, and how to write a formal business plan for a technology start-up firm.
Next to these courses you will follow Business Research Methods (5 ECTS), which introduces students to business research methods such as surveys, interviews, and observational field research methods, as well as the challenges associated with analysing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative research data.
The purpose of the NTV Assignment (20-30 ECTS) is to develop a full understanding of, and get real-life experience with the process of starting a new technology venture by studying and helping resolve issues that a reallife technology venture is facing. This may be a venture the student wishes to start, or a new venture of someone else that the student works for/with. The primary academic output of the NTV assignment is a research report, which the student presents and defends during the final week of the course.
Finally, students have the option to write a Business Research Essay (10 ECTS) that develops new insights into the creation of new technology ventures and can take a maximum of 10 ECTS of courses from the SBB electives course portfolio, or of approved courses offered elsewhere.
Course schedules
The courses will run from September 4 till November 10 2017.
Blackboard
For each course a separate blackboard space is created in which the students are enrolled by the course coordinator. Lecture notes, assignments, important announcements etc can be found there.
Application
Students can register for the courses within the track via uSis. Click here for instructions.
Organization
This track is organised by Science Based Business.
