There is a common belief that you are either born an entrepreneur or not. But with interest growing in entrepreneurship as a field of study, it is clear that many people consider it something that can be learnt. This article explores what you can gain from a postgraduate degree in entrepreneurship and how it can lead to entrepreneurial success.

What is entrepreneurship?

According to Oxford's English dictionary, the definition of entrepreneurship describes one who identifies the need for a business and takes risks in establishing that business to reap a financial reward.
 
As well as the more academic skills, successful entrepreneurs need a deep understanding of the nuances of management and human behaviour, particularly as their enterprises expand.
 
So, is entrepreneurship innate? Since many people become entrepreneurs midway through their careers, or later in life, this is not necessarily the case. For these individuals, pursuing further study can help expand their skillset and fill in the gaps in their business experience.
 
Students enrolled in programmes such as the Entrepreneurship Management and Innovation online MSc at the University of Bath often have prior expertise in only one or two areas of business or management. But to make it as an entrepreneur, you need to be a master of all, so training is vital. 
 
That's why the University of Bath delivers the skills you need to achieve success in your entrepreneurial endeavors. As a student, you'll:
 
  • Learn how to break down the entrepreneurial journey - Examine the behaviours of entrepreneurs, the opportunities they create, and the challenges they face, all with the aim of enabling you to see yourself and your business idea in the same light. This perspective will help you identify the specific opportunities and challenges facing your own enterprise, and how you can start developing your own solutions
  • Gain a holistic view of business - In addition to studying the traditional areas of business such as marketing, finance, and leadership, our online MSc encourages you to view the workings of a new enterprise as connected parts of a single infrastructure. You'll become familiar with customer relations, operations and organisation design, and financial models in a way that will help you make the right strategic decisions for your business as a whole
  • Benefit from cutting-edge specialist curriculum - Our online MSc provides an extensive study of entrepreneurship. Each unit of our course has been formulated to help you explore another piece of the entrepreneurial puzzle, with the ultimate goal of preparing you to take on your own real-world business
 

“When we speak with successful entrepreneurs and hear their stories, one thing that inevitably comes up is persistence, believing in what they do. It’s a sense of purpose and internal drive to make a change in a particular place.”
— Professor Dimo Dimov, University of Bath lecturer

Types of entrepreneurship

Our online Entrepreneurship Management and Innovation online MSc will prepare you for entrepreneurial opportunities in diverse fields, especially including:

  • Financial management
  • Human resources
  • IT and cybersecurity services
  • Marketing
  • Operations management 
 
To manage a business today requires interdisciplinary skills, whether that is understanding the fundamentals of economics to evaluate and adapt to market conditions or applying technology to automate campaigns. While you can develop these skills on the job, over time, a degree is the best way to grasp the breadth of knowledge necessary for management in the real world.
 

“To have vision, you need to be able to imagine a better world. Forward thinking is an essential part of this; avoid taking for granted existing things or status quo assumptions, as these can restrict broader thinking. Visualise the world without these preconceived boundaries to see the possibilities of a better way.”
— Professor Dimo Dimov, University of Bath lecturer

Building your confidence

For entrepreneurs, preparation is everything, which is why entrepreneurship courses focus on developing your ability to anticipate and face up to the risks inherent in the modern business world. And since you’re supported by your lecturers and peers, the study environment allows you to practice without financial consequences, which is something that cannot be said about testing out new ideas in the real world.
 
Compared to the working environment, education can provide greater stimulation for innovation. Studying units in strategy, ideation, and incubation can all help to open your mind to business ideas and career avenues you may not have otherwise considered.
 
Another benefit of the business school route to entrepreneurship is the networking opportunities it fosters. Peers and professors often provide the key connections to achieve your goals when setting up a business in the future.
 

Nurturing your skills

By giving you the space to experiment and collaborate with students from around the world, while drawing on a combination of interactive study techniques, the University of Bath’s Entrepreneurship Management and Innovation online MSc nurtures entrepreneurship.
 

“This programme is designed in a way that allows you to reflect on your own abilities and experiences and think of them as marketable assets around which you can build a company. So, going through the course, you will be equipped with different frameworks, processes that will help you initiate your own entrepreneurial journey.”
— Dr. Stoyan Stoyanov, Course Leader

Combined with on-the-job experience, the unique knowledge and practical skills acquired through a recognised business school such as ours, can set you on course to a lifetime of entrepreneurial business success.

View current entrepreneurship statistics at the University of Bath and learn the essentials of entrepreneurship. Request information for the University of Bath’s Entrepreneurship Management and Innovation online MSc today.

Authored on 16.09.20

Last updated on 08.08.24

Disclaimer

The information in this article is correct at the time of publishing. Course elements, rankings, and other data may change. Please refer to the online courses page for the most up-to-date details.

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