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  • Deakin University

What Roles do Entrepreneurs Play in Society?

This course will consider the various roles that entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship play in shaping wider society.

  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    10 hours

The role of the entrepreneur and the significance of entrepreneurship in society is very context specific. After all, people exist in specific times and places, and how they think and act can be influenced by certain social, linguistic, and material factors. We must also remember that not all societies approach entrepreneurship in the same way, nor are they at the same stage of their entrepreneurial development and so we must consider this when attempting to determine their role in and influence on wider society.

What topics will you cover?

• The role and function of the entrepreneur in society

• How ‘value’ is created through entrepreneurship

• Intrapreneurship versus entrepreneurship

• Productive and unproductive entrepreneurship

• Opportunity and necessity-based entrepreneurship

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...

  • Summarise the role of the entrepreneur in society
  • Assess the ways in which society and social structures can impact on the role of the entrepreneur
  • Compare forms of entrepreneurial action and consider their impact in a range of contexts
  • Reflect upon the role of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship in your own social contexts

Who is the course for?

For students undertaking the graduate/postgraduate certificate, jointly delivered by Coventry University and Deakin University.

Who will you learn with?

Prof Maas is the Director of the International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship at Coventry University. Has broad international business and academic experiences in various countries.

Dr Matt Mount (Ph.D) is Assistant Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Deakin Business School. He is an expert in the area of strategy and innovation processes.

Dr Colin Higgins is an Associate Professor in Management at Deakin University and also leads Deakin's Global Courses. He teaches strategy and researches how companies engage with sustainability

Cherisse Hoyte is an associate professor of entrepreneurship in Coventry University’s International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship. Her area of expertise is entrepreneurial sensemaking.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992
  • Location

    Coventry

Deakin University

Deakin University is one of Australia’s largest universities with more than 61,000 students and over 15,000 online.

  • Established

    1974
  • Location

    Melbourne, Australia
  • World ranking

    Top 280Source: QS World University Rankings 2021

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

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