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Foundation of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China

Discover how Chinese culture influences discovery, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship with this free online course.

6,231 enrolled on this course

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  • Duration

    5 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

China is a focus of today’s world economy, and its approach to innovation and entrepreneurship has an increasing global influence.

Explore the Chinese approach to innovation and entrepreneurship

This free online course will introduce the processes related to discovery, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship; the influence of Chinese culture on them; and the characteristics and thinking of Chinese innovators and entrepreneurs.

By the end of the course, you will acquire the skills and ability to:

  • identify daily problems;
  • generate new ideas;
  • propose new products or services;
  • analyse the feasibility of your ideas from an entrepreneurial perspective;
  • and develop a business model and business plan.

Learn with entrepreneurship experts from CityU

This process will be guided by lead educator Dr Hongyi Sun’s PIPE model (Problem, Idea, Product and Enterprise) - a teaching model recognised with a First Award from the China Association of Higher Education under the Chinese Ministry of Education.

The course has been developed by CityU (City University of Hong Kong) - an institution that capitalises on its cross-East-West position and strong connections with the Chinese government, industry and universities, to develop innovation and knowledge transfer.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 9 seconds China has experienced rapid economic development over the past 30 years. To sustain its rapid growth in future, China will need to transform itself to an innovation based economy. This course is an introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship in China. It is one of the pioneering courses that link discovery, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The course is based on the PIPE model, which has been developed by Dr Hongyi Sun over a span of 10 years. The PIPE model provides students with a broader view of the innovation and entrepreneurship process. You are welcome to join us to learn about Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China.

What topics will you cover?

  • Demographic and economic basics in contemporary China
  • Research-informed cultural binaries and their influence on facilitating or impeding innovation
  • Impediments to innovation in Chinese culture
  • Facilitating innovation and entrepreneurship with the systematic and cross-disciplinary PIPE Model
  • Recognizing problems as innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities
  • Creating innovative ideas and solutions with the Cre8map and the Diamond Style of Thinking
  • Examination of new product idea feasibility with a patent search and market research
  • Product design in the New Product Development process and conducting user tests to identify limitations
  • Development of a business model and a business plan for a startup

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explain why China is in urgent need of innovation-based entrepreneurship
  • Describe the influence of Chinese culture on innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Identify problems in everyday life which require innovative solutions
  • Produce solutions to those problems by generating new ideas through the creative thinking process
  • Design a product idea and evaluate its Intellectual Property protection and existing competitors
  • Synthesise all the learning outcomes above into a business model and a business plan

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for university students and anyone interested in innovation and entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Who will you learn with?

孫洪義 博士
Associate Professor in the Department of Systems Engineering & Engineering Management.
The developer & trainer of the PIPE model linking discovery, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship

I live and work in China Hong Kong.
I’m also overall responsibility of international symposiums and the CityU Education Platform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Who developed the course?

City University of Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has risen rapidly to become a leading institution for research and professional education in Asia’s World City where East meets West.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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