Exchange with Mondragon University: Extended Experience Entrepreneurship
Course Description
Extended Entrepreneurship Experience – Mondragon Exchange
Under the free elective Extended Entrepreneurship Experience (TPM425/6A), Master's and PhD students take on challenge-based learning projects for 3 or 5 ECTS. Like other free electives from the DCE, this course is open to Master's and PhD students from all master's programmes, regardless of faculty.
In this specially designed edition of the Extended Entrepreneurship Experience elective course of 5 ECTS, students can learn by working on a business case from Natra - a leading business-to-business manufacturer of own-label chocolate products for supermarkets and well-known global chocolate brands.
In Q3 of the TU Delft academic calendar, Netherlands-based students will work in interdisciplinary teams with business students from our Spanish exchange partner, Mondragon University. During the ten-week course, the joint teams will meet in the 3rd week of the course at TU Delft and then for the last week at Mondragon's campus at San Sebastian. A small travel and accomodation grant is available to contribute to Delft student's costs.
Working on a challenge from Natra, students will be introduced to and practice various aspects of entrepreneurial thinking through immersion in challenge-based learning. The course will emphasize the application of an entrepreneurial framework for sustainable human behaviours and innovation. The project may include the analysis of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the sustainable impact of a startup, the creation of a circular business model in the framework of eco-innovation and its validation, or the participation in an innovation or startup contest. Using a challenge-based project, you will develop an entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial skills through hands-on experiences and by engaging in proactive behaviour.
Application Process
The deadline for applying is midnight on Sunday, 22 January 2023.
After submitting your application, you will be contacted regarding the final selection by Friday, 27 January 2023
Apply with the below link:
https://forms.office.com/e/6MZueA2Fgh
Other than some basic contact information, the central part of the application is a request to make a 45-second introduction and motivation video. We will use your video to select if more students apply than we have available places for the course. It will also be shown in a reel during the course kick-off meeting on Monday, 13 February, to help people get to know who will be part of the course.
Guidance for video contents:
In your short, video, please tell us (in English):
- Your name, where are you from, what do you study, what do you like, etc.
- About your motivation by finishing the sentence "I would like to learn more about..."
- Your relationship to chocolate
The instructions for making the video are also in the application form. Be sure to have made the video and have a URL to share (video platform of your choice) before you complete the application form.
As the course will use Google Classroom as a shared online learning platform, there is no need to register in Brightspace.
Course Schedule
- Starting and ending date: 13 February - 5 April
- Lecturing days: detailed in the programme board but are mainly scheduled on Mondays or Wednesdays except in the first and last week when there are two sessions planned. See the table below for details (some details might change, but the week-by-week is stable). Other than in the two exchange weeks, classes and collaboration will be online.
- Travels; Mondragon students will travel the 2nd week of the semester and Delft the last week of the program
Programme
The complete programme is detailed in the table below. It includes information about the weekly content and a brief description of the weekly work.
Week | Module/ Topic | Activity |
13/02 Monday (1) | Module 0. Kick-off
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15/02 Wednesday (1) | Module 1. Market analysis & Trends
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20/02 | Exchange 1: Mondragon students travel to Delft and Natra factory visit | Tuesday to Thursday TU Delft Campus |
22/02 Wednesday (2) | Module 2. Customer and Market Discovery
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27/02 Monday (3) | Feedback Module 1 & Module 2 (Experts) Module 3. Ideation process of the solution concept |
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06/03 Monday (4) | Module 3. Ideation process of the solution concept: Practice & Coaching |
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13/03 Monday (5) | Intermediate milestone with NATRA Module 4. Prototyping of the solution concept |
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20/03 Monday (6) | Module 4. Prototyping of the solution concept: Practice & Coaching |
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27/03 Monday (7) | Module 5. Introduction to the business model canvas and Go-to-market strategy for your solution concept.
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02/04 | Exchange 2: TU Delft Students travel to San Sebastian |
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03/04 Monday (8) | Module 6. Communication skills (Pitching) & Practice
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05/04 Wednesday (8) | Final presentation |
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FAQ's about the exchange!
1) As a TU Delft student, how do I apply and be selected?
You must complete a short form and make a 45-second video about your motivation to participate in the exchange course. The deadline is midnight on Sunday, 15 February. We will use the short video to select 15 students if the course is oversubscribed. The rest will be put on a waiting list in case of dropouts. Individual videos will also be shown in a reel during the kick-off meeting on Monday, 13 February, to help get to know each other.
2) When will the classes be?
Besides the online kick-off on Monday, 13 February and the three days on the exchange to San Sebastian during the last week, all the mandatory classes will take place online each Wednesday. There will also be a visit to the Natra chocolate factory in Belgium on w/c 20 February. The day will be communicated later. The site visit will be optional for TU Delft students who cannot join due to other classes. See the course schedule above for precise dates.
2) What if I have a clashing course and cannot attend?
If this is the case, make sure your teammates share their notes with you and be sure to talk about the class about the challenge your group is working on.
3) How will we work as a mixed team from the Netherlands and Spain?
You will form teams in the first week. It is up to each team to set rules and determine the best ways to work online and which tools to use. For the publication of course materials, we will use Google Classroom,
4) How will students be assessed?
There is a mixture of individual and group assignments. There will also be 360-degree peer feedback, which can influence the final grade students receive at the course's end.
For the extended entrepreneurship course, there is no opportunity to re-sit exams
5) Is there financial help for TU Delft students to travel to Spain in the last week?
Yes, each student can ask for a small grant to contribute to travel and accommodation costs in San Sebastian.
6) How do we get the money?
We ask for proof of payment for accommodation and copies of travel tickets or petrol receipts etc. Please take a photo of the receipts/proof of payment with your phone and email them to R.A.Kievit-Brinkman@tudelft.nl not later than one month after the end of the course. The Delft Centre for Entrepreneurship will then be able to reimburse legitimate costs up to 300 euros per person.
7) Does TU Delft book travel to Spain or accommodation in San Sebastian?
No! It is up to students to book and pay for their travel to and from Spain and accommodation while in San Sebastian. Legitimate travel and accommodation expenses will be reimbursed. See above. Last year some Delft students rented an apartment together to save costs.
8) Travelling to Spain is not very environmentally responsible!
It is up to each student to decide if they want to travel. The intention of offering students the travel and accommodation grant is to allow individual flexibility in how they travel and where they stay. The Delft Centre for Entrepreneurship encourages students to opt for green options. Ultimately the decision is an individual's responsibility.
9) Am I insured by TU Delft during travel to Spain and the time there?
To be insured by TU Delft, you should register in Osiris that you are going abroad, even for a few days. The university travel and health insurance cover students doing official research, exchanges or internships abroad. It does not cover holiday periods and higher-risk activities, or sports. Don't forget to arrange your own comprehensive travel and health insurance if you plan to stay in Spain after the course ends. Please read the TU Delft student and staff travel policy:
https://www.tudelft.nl/en/student/study-and-career/study-internship-abroad/
10) I have another question!
Ge in touch with one of the TU Delft course coordinators:
About course content, email Fatima Delgado Medina: F.DelgadoMedina@tudelft.nl
About logistics email, Gareth Wakeling: g.m.wakeling@tudelft.nl