Idea and Business Development course final presentation

• Post by: Tobias Larsson
• 25th October 2013
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The Students in Idea and Business Development (FE1451 – Ide & Affärsutveckling) had their final group projects presentation on October 25 in front of their classmates and an investor panel.

Idea and Business Development course (Ide & Affärsutveckling – FE1451) is designed as a free – standing 15 credits course for bachelor students in the Economics of Innovation and Business Development education in the School of Management (MAM).

The overall goal of the course is to improve the students understanding of ideas generation and business development processes. Besides, the capabilities to plan, assess, develop, create a new business idea and pitch it in an effective way are significant parts of course’s vision as well.

The students group worked in different new development projects both in the theoretical and practical levels. The theoretical track is mostly consisting of lectures, seminars and reflection reports around idea generation and business development. The practical track focuses on laboratory exercises, creativity sessions, group project meetings etc.

The course manger defines the outcomes of the group projects as below:

•  After the course the student will:
  • A) Able to explain and apply the theoretical models and concepts used in business contexts, such as business idea, business model, market launch, and competitive strategies.
  • B) To investigate, develop and present a new business by applying various tools, such as business plans, market research and prototyping.
  • C) Able to make a business appraisal of a new idea, by analyzing it from a financial, technical and user perspective.
  • D) Able to reflect on group processes and their role and development of the project.
  • E) To present and argue for a concept orally for potential stakeholders.
• Source: http://edu.bth.se/utbildning/utb_kurstillfalle.asp?KtAnmKod=M0306&KtTermin=20132

Product Development Research Lab (PDRL) and Karlskrona Makerspace contribution:

There were two projects, 1) panic alarm 2) wheelbarrow, which Jan-Anders Månsson and Babak Kianian from Product Development Research Lab (PDRL) and Karlskrona Makerspace have contributed in.

PDRL supported these projects in different product development levels and stages by carrying out the following works: improving the conceptual designs, CAD design, 3D drawing and modeling, analyzing and improving the mechanical structures, and 3D prototyping (3D Printing).

The short descriptions of the projects’ goals are as follow:

Panic Alarm

A survey by the National Crime Prevention Council shows 25% of the women said they felt fairly or very unsafe, when they have been asked in the survey about their security feeling outdoor (National Council, 2013). Thus, one of the triggers behind this project is that many women feel discomfort and insecurity of being outdoors mostly at nights and dark places. Today’s panic alarms are designed to be attached to keys, which people usually put in their jacket pocket or purse so they rarely wear panic alarm in hand. Therefore, in case of need it can be difficult to trigger the alarm because of the lack of availability.

The group explored different solutions to improve functionality and accessibility of a panic alarm. For example, a security solution should be aware of the surroundings that a violent crime is about to take place and call for help, and users should have choices to influence the location of a panic alarm.

Wheelbarrow

The group explored different ideas in ergonomically design of a wheelbarrow to improve, for example, its performance and efficiency mostly in case of heavy loaded works which strong muscle powers are usually required. One of goals with this project was to design a wheelbarrow, which users in all ages and sizes would be able to lift, move and empty it without problems such as affecting the wheelbarrow stability and drive smoothness negatively.

For more information contact: Babak Kianian, bak@bth.se and Professor Tobias C. Larsson, tlr@bth.se both at Product Development Research Lab (PDRL).