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 Business Studies 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 management track consists of 40-60 ECTS and comprises the following elements:
The mandatory courses of the management track are Strategy, Marketing, Financial Management, Technology and Operations Management, and 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 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 3-6 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 (5 or 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.
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 have to register for the courses within the track via uSis. Click here for instructions.
The class numbers for uSis can also be found on the SBB website.
Organisation
This track is organised by Science Based Business.
For questions please contact info@sbb.leidenuniv.nl.
New Technology Ventures track
Please note: due to the specialised nature of this track, this track will be offered only if the number of registrations is sufficient. Students will be notified at the latest one month before the start of the programme whether the programme will be offered. If the programme is not offered, students can participate in the management track.
UPDATE: this track will not be offered in the academic year 2018-2019.
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 NTV 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 NTV track consists of 40-60 ECTS and comprises of the following elements:
The mandatory courses of the New Technology Ventures track (12 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 Financial Management (3 ECTS) and Research Methods (5 ECTS), which introduces students to business research methods.
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 (5 or 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 till December.
The exact schedule can be found on the website.
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.
Organisation
This track is organised by Science Based Business.
For questions please contact info@sbb.leidenuniv.nl.
Electives
The Business Studies specialisation comprises at least 40 EC, of which 20* EC should consist of master courses from either the Management Track or the New Technology Ventures Track. Next to these master courses students will also complete the SBB Business Studies Internship or the New Technology Ventures Assignment of at least 20 EC. This means an additional maximum of 20 EC can be chosen from both tracks and the set of electives mentioned below. These electives have limited places available and are usually offered only once per academic year, so students should consult with their study advisor and/or the specialisation coordinator beforehand. After consultation, students are requested to fill in the application form to confirm their choice of elective(s).
Electives within the Business Studies specialisation:
Business Research Essay (5-10 EC, semester 1 or 2)
Decision & Risk Analysis (3 E, semester 1)
Leading & Managing People (5 EC, semester 1)
Accounting (3 EC, semester 2)
Business Intelligence (4 EC, semester 1)
Managing the Digital Business (3 EC, semester 2)
Managing Innovation (3 EC, semester 2)
Marketing Analytics (3 EC, semester 2)
Capstone Cases (3 EC, semester 1 or 2)
Lean Six Sigma (3 EC, semester 2)
Entrepreneurship (3 EC, semester 1)
These courses are coordinated by ICT in Business. Please contact the coordinator of this programme to request admission to the course. There are limited places available for each course.
The (preliminary) schedules for these courses can be found on the SBB website.
Students that have followed the SBB minor can choose courses from this list or the other track (if offered) to replace the already completed courses within their track.
Thus, the first 40 EC of the specialisation should always consist of 20* EC worth of business courses from one or both tracks and/or the electives listed on this page, followed by 20 EC fulfilled by either the internship or the assignment. For the last 20 EC students are allowed to choose courses from their master programme in consultation with their study advisor.
*(For Biomedical Sciences only 15 EC is required.)
