MSc Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship

• Leadership Essentials: The unit aims to provide a critical understanding of leadership theory and practice through developing your personal leadership skills. You will develop greater self-awareness through reflexivity and working with teams, combined with a theoretical understanding including emotional intelligence, resilience and well-being.
• Accounting & Financial Management: You will develop the techniques and skills that are required to analyse and evaluate accounting and other forms of financial data for the purposes of performance evaluation, decision making and risk analysis. 
• Business Model Innovation: Business models are central to the sustainable development of new, entrepreneurial businesses, and especially those with innovative products and processes, creativity and design. You'll learn to select the tools and techniques to create robust business models.
• SMEs & Entrepreneurial Finance: This unit explores various theories of finance while drawing on practical knowledge of government grants, business angels, venture capitals (VCs), private equity, investment banks and other financing types for early-stage businesses.
• Selling, Relationships & Customer Service: Establishing and nurturing relationships with suppliers, customers and other forms of business partners is critical to the success of any business. You will learn to develop appropriate ways to build sustainable relationships.
• Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Design: You will develop an effective entrepreneurial, innovative, and design thinking mindset. The implementation of design management principles, innovative culture and governance will be explored in a variety of business contexts. The unit will explore the nature of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, attributes, competences, and behaviours.
• Project - Entrepreneurship in Practice or Innovation in Practice: You will develop and demonstrate your innovation and entrepreneurial skills through 'real-life' projects focusing on a problem or opportunity.

You have the option to undertake a 30-week placement at the end of the course, providing an opportunity to apply your acquired knowledge and skills in the workplace. You are required to find your own placement; however, our Careers & Employability Service and your faculty placements office are on hand to support you.

The placement is intended to foster personal and professional development, and to help you to make a connection between academic learning and the working world.

You should consider how a range of management theories can be used, and if management in industry could be improved. The transferable skills developed will improve your performance in your future career, both as employee and manager.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

This conversion course has a special focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, while also providing a grounding in the core business functions of strategic management, marketing, human resource management, and finance and accounting.

We are looking for students who have a keen interest in either becoming entrepreneurs and innovators or working in a role supporting entrepreneurship, small business management and innovation. Developing new ideas to solve problems, and practical plans to implement them, lies at the heart of this course.

This course selects candidates by looking at their applications. There are no interviews or additional selection activities and therefore we suggest that you make your application stand out from the crowd. For more information, take a look at our post graduate how to apply pages.

Please see our website for the application deadlines. You should apply as early as possible to be considered for your course of choice. If you require a student visa, apply for the visa as soon as you have an unconditional offer and receive your CAS. There may be delays in visa processing in your country and you need to be in Bournemouth ready to study for the start of term.

December and January is one of our busiest application periods and therefore it may take us a little longer to process incoming applications. For courses with a January start date, we recommend submitting your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

We provide a lot of support for you to help you find work, including a block of seminars, covering topics such as writing a CV and a cover letter, completing an application form, performing well in interviews, and we also provide language support to assist you with the written elements of your applications. 

However, it is ultimately your responsibility to find work. The university does not guarantee that you will find a place. Some students may choose to opt for a taught unit instead of placement.  

During your time on placement, you will be supported by a unit tutor and a placement development advisor who will visit you on placement and keep in touch by phone and email. 

If you choose to do a placement as part of your course:

If you have previously studied in the UK, we will consider any study limit that may apply. We will issue your CAS according to the length of time you are entitled to under UKVI regulations (if you do not have enough time left for a work placement year, we will issue your CAS to cover your course dates only).

If you decide after you have enrolled on your course that you do not want to do a placement, this will be reported to the UKVI when you have successfully completed your course.

If you choose not to do a placement as part of your course:

We will note this on your CAS and your visa will only be granted long enough to cover your taught course, excluding placement.

If you change your mind while you are here and decide you want to do a placement, you will need to leave the UK to make a new Tier 4 visa application for the additional year of study. You would need to pay for your return travel back to your home country, as well as the cost of a new Tier 4 student visa application.

The normal requirements for embarking upon a postgraduate taught degree are:

• A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject, or equivalent.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow - some based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• India: Bachelor’s degree (four years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55%  
• Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:4  
• China: Chinese Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with 65% or above  
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0  
• Ghana: Bachelor's degrees from University of Ghana or Legon with a grade of 2.00 or above, or from Cape Coast with a grade 2.5 or above  
• USA: US Bachelor’s degree (four years), with a 2.5 GPA or above  

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

After completion of this course typical job roles can include:

• Management Consultant
• Business Development Manager
• Project Manager
• Product Manager
• Customer Relationship Manager
• Account Executive
• Business Analyst
• Investment Analyst
• Banking Officer
• Entrepreneur.

• Business
• Finance
• Management
• Media
• Human resources.

If you want to continue your studies after achieving your Master’s, you can look into our range of doctoral programmes.

What's included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, intregrated social media and advanced video features
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions.
   

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information. 
• Travel costs, for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Placement year funding information can be found on our website.
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportBU membership.

• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office or Digital ID verification charges.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during the course of your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries to eligible students who are beginning their studies at BU. Please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/funding for details on living costs, budgeting and paying your tuition fees.

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. For January 2025 entry, a £5,000 deposit is required. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

• You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
• You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

Natalia is a Lecturer in Strategic Management and former Research Assistant for the Faculty of Management. She is currently writing up her EdD doctorate with the University of Southampton. She holds a Professional Economist degree and an MSc Tourism Management & Marketing, so she is a BU Alumna too. She has also worked on research projects for the University of Winchester and the University of Ulster.

Her research interests are broadly in ‘landscape and wellbeing’ and ‘enterprise and communities’. Within landscape and wellbeing she has looked at green/blue space, rural, peri-urban and urban landscape mapping, utilising GIS, to identify relationships between land type, tranquillity and user wellbeing; and the use of leisure space in migrant/refuge communities. Within enterprise and community she has looked at the role of work experience in prisoner rehabilitation; graduate enterprise motivation; social and community enterprise in rural communities; entrepreneurship in transitional economies. She is currently working with an independent consultant to develop Neural Networks (NN) models capable of classifying audio signal patterns gathered by equipment used in the maintenance of public utility pipe networks. Her research has ranged from the UK, EU, South America and Russia. Within Higher Education she has researched ‘collegiality’, the role of networking within research communities; and peer to peer sexual harassment within university institutions.

She is a practitioner in Mixed Methods Research but is especially a quantitative researcher with expertise in Social Network Analysis (SNA), Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

She originally came from a business rather than purely academic background having co- founded a Russian Tour Operating company dealing mainly with tours and events in Japan and the Russian Far East. She has also been a manager of several branches on a national UK retail chain selling high end clothing. She is a member of Bournemouth University’s Research Ethics panel.