A four-week track especially designed for you to learn how business is being done in Europe. The learning approach consists of a blend of applied-theoretical approaches, case studies, real-life examples, excursions, a competition-like business simulation, and a study trip to Italy (Milan).
Please read the summary below and also the individual course descriptions to gather insight into what these life-changing 4 weeks will look like!
The price shown is applicable to current students and recent graduates. The full price that applies to non-students is 3.374 Euros.
The first two weeks of this track focus on the various innovation challenges faced by European companies; how governments and business (cultures) in the European Union (EU) influence innovation, and which traits characterise innovative ventures and people. You will learn the fundamentals of how to perform a trend analysis, scenario planning, and form ideas about innovative business models. By organising a variety of site visits, we will help you obtain a good grasp of the various ways in which companies tackle these challenges and are able to innovate.
For the second part of this track we will take you to Milano in Italy. This week will build upon the first two weeks. While in the first two weeks the focus will be on production, logistics and inbound aspects, the week in Italy will 'close' the exploration of business models. In Italy the focus will be on the branding, designing an go to the market strategy. During this week in Italy you will explore Innovation from the point of view of the Branding and the Customer Experience. To reach this aim we will use the great opportunities given by the Italian lifestyle in the most innovative, very international and, at the same time, typical Italian city of Milan. During the the first two weeks, you will pay attention to business models and financing models and the complete supply chain from the perspective of innovation and entrepreneurship in European Business. While these first two weeks the focus will be on production, logistics and inbound aspects, the Italian add-on will focus on the market-proposition, and will so 'close' the exploration of business modelling. The programme entails: lectures, workshops, excursions, experiential visits and groupwork.
The last week is all about yourself and personal-professional development. Everyday will be dedicated to two different so-called 21st century skills that no professional can do without. The so-called 21st Century Skills are considered the most important skills to succeed in today's workplace, since they can be universally applied to enhance ways of thinking, learning, working and living in the world. These are: communicative, social-cultural, collaboration, self-regulation, critical thinking, problem-solving, entrepreneurial and creativity skills. In this highly interactive week, discovering, experiencing, and sharing are the key activities. On day 1 and 2, you will be introduced to the Four-Mode Perspective. This universal principle entails that every challenge can be met, and that every message can be brought in four different ways. Your skillfulness and effectivity in communicating with others will quadruple overnight! On days 3, 4 and 5 you will submerge yourself into eight other 21st century skills: Collaboration, Socio-cultural awareness, Self-regulation, Critical thinking, Media literacy, Creativity, Problem-solving skills and Entrepreneurship. All in a global perspective, and broadening your scope as a global citizen. Every exercise in the course is practical, fun to do ,and highly educational. The course is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, bringing you insights and new capabilities that will be beneficial to you for the rest of your life! Your discoveries and learning won’t end this week. We will invite you and your fellow students to form a Circle of Understanding, and each of you will be offered 25 real-life challenges over a period of 100 more days to further grow both personally and professionally
A few key elements of this course are:
- New business models;
- Corporate social responsibility;
- Brand experience & Customer experience;
- Creative approaches to brand identity;
- Field trips;
- Practical and applied approaches;
- Training your communicative, social-cultural, collaboration, self-regulation, critical thinking, problem-solving, entrepreneurial and creativity skills
- Mastering Global Citizenship
The courses part of this track are the following:
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Europe: Business Models and Financing Models (B27)
- Add-on Field Trip to Italy-Milano (B46)
- Boost your 21st Century Skills - Master Global Citizenship (B50)
Lecturers
Bart Toering MSc, Alesandro Siviero PHd, Ewald Theunisse
Target audience
Students in bachelor/undergraduate studies and anyone interested in getting insight in how business in Europe works.
Aim of the course
- Analyse and understand mega trends
- Plan a Scenario for an idea
- Engage in Idea generation
- Deconstruct Supply Chains
- Construct a sustainable Supply chain
- Gain awareness on Dutch clusters, for example the agribusiness
- Gain understanding of innovation models and business models
- Understand the role of Branding, brand experience & customer experience
- Explicitly train and strengthen your communicative, social-cultural, collaboration, self-regulation, critical thinking, problem-solving, entrepreneurial and creativity skills;
- Increase Mastering Global Citizenship
Study load
Appr. 110 hrs. of lectures, workshops, excursions, assignments, (incl. self-study).
Costs
Additional information
The housing fee refers to the cost of housing in Utrecht only - B&B in Milan is included in the course fee.
If you would like to make use of the Utrecht Summer School student accommodation, please make sure to check this page. You can check in on or after Sunday 2 July 2023, after 12.00 (noon). More information regarding the check-in is available in the pre-departure and day-to-day document.