Digital Innovation and Startup Entrepreneurship

Startup Business Management

The objective of the course is to familiarize students with business and organisations management, with the main financial, production and marketing functions of enterprises, as well as with information systems and smart organisation tools. The course includes the following modules:

• Management functions
• Outer and inner environment for enterprises and organisations
• Enterprise organisation and analysis tools (SWOT, PEST, etc.)
• Business strategy and planning, and analysis tools (BCG matrix, strategy clock, portfolio cube, etc.)
• Marketing and research (4P mix, break-even analysis, budgeting, etc.)
• Digital/virtual companies and Internet business models
• Students project: making a business/master plan for a company or organisation and analysing it using the tools taught in the course

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Financial Administration

The purpose of the course is to provide students with the necessary knowledge regarding the financial operations of modern enterprises. The following subjects are discussed:

• Financial accounting: basic principles, financial statements, accounts and accounting events recording
• Financial analysis: evaluation of the financial performance of enterprises, analysis of accounting statements via financial ratios
• Cost accounting & budgets: basic principles and main techniques for cost accounting and budgeting
• Financial decisions: financing decisions and methods for economic evaluation of investments. Laboratory exercise on the evaluation of the financial operations of real enterprises.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The course focuses on the need to persistently innovate for the sustainable and robust business development in an international and rapidly changing technological environment. Topics of the course mainly cover knowledge management, patents and diversification strategy, innovation models and international business expansion. Particular emphasis is given to the concept of entrepreneurship and its role in the economic development and growth of the company, while simultaneously recognizing the key mechanisms of generating new knowledge and the typical phases in the development process of new ICT products and services.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Innovation: Special Issues and Case Studies

The aim of the course is to present real cases of digital innovation and their management. Studies include cases of success and failure of digital innovations. The reasons for the failure or success of each case are analysed. The course also includes presentations and interviews by market executives, creating an interactive communication with students on subjects chosen by the latter and the professor.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Startup Simulator

The objective of this course is to provide students with a realistic view of key management issues in the real world by applying the principles of management and decision-making to a modern simulation environment.

Participants, in teams, undertake the management of a newly created PC manufacturing and marketing company and assign themselves administrative roles that correspond to the company’s operations (general management, production, sales, marketing, financial administration). In this context, they try to draw up and implement a complete business plan in order to understand the way that a company’s operations are combined and interact; they also become aware of the impact of competition, which requires constant analysis of the circumstances, as well as decision-making at a tactical and operational level.

Additionally, the course includes lectures that focus on important issues of strategic management and business planning, as well as the management of a company’s individual operations. Particular emphasis is placed on providing and discussing representative, real-life examples from well-known companies and organizations.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Marketing

This course provides students with the relevant theoretical background, but mainly practical approaches to contemporary issues in the field of digital marketing. Emphasis is given on: a) communication strategy and promotion via various digital channels (web, mobile, social networks, etc.), b) consumer digital behaviour process and models, c) customization and personalization of digital content, d) usability of websites, e) CRM information systems and f) advanced digital marketing analytics.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Business Resources Management

In the last decade there have been extensive developments in the area of ‘Digital Management of Enterprise Resources’, which currently constitutes a major worldwide tool for innovation and new enterpreneurship, as well as for the efficiency and competitiveness of existing firms. Numerous software applications – digital tools have been developed, which support a wide range of methodologies/algorithms that perform various forms of management of different types of enterprise resources. Furthermore, they become easily and directly accesible and usable by firms of all sizes, at low cost, without having to make big investments, though Cloud/SaaS services.

Objective of this course is to provide basic knowledge and familiarization with the digital management of enterprise resources, using digital tools that implement various methodologies/algorithms/approaches for managing various types of enterprise resources, e.g. financial, human, technological (equipment), materials (and in general inventory), and also relational and knowledge resources, business networks, etc. We focus on the basic forms of digital management of enterprise resources, which are implemented by the main modules of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, which can however be implemented/provided by autonomous information systems/software packages.

The course consists of the following:

• Introduction
• General Accounting (Ledger) module
• Sales module
• Procurement module
• Inventory warehouse management module
• Production module
• Fixed assets module
• ERP systems implementation
• Exploitation for supporting innovation and enterpreneurship research

This course also includes gaining direct hands-on experiences concerning the above modules. For each of them there is initially a description of the structure of its main files (both master and transaction files) as well as its functionality, and then follows a presentation and analysis of the latter in a real ERP environment, the Microsoft Navision ERP, implementation of a series of business scenarios in it, and then relevant assignments/small projects.

The asssessment of students in this course will be based on performance in the final exam, as well as in the above assignments/small projects.

Big, Open and Linked Data Management

The aim of this course is to familiarise students with the management of different data from various sources. The course will present the different types of data (big, linked, ledger), as well as tools for their management (R, Linda). Sources of open data from around the world will also be presented with regards to their utilisation and the production of value-added services. The course will include assignments concerning tools used for managing different types of data, as well as methods for their analysis. Students of the course will be able to work as data analysts.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Technologies and Web Services

The aim of the course is to show students the added value and new opportunities that digital technologies bring to modern organizations, the economy and society. Starting with digital infrastructure technologies, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web, the course goes into modern B2C, B2B, G2C and C2C systems that enhance existing business models. In latter stages of the course emphasis is given on the importance of web services, cloud services, enterprise data intelligence and enterprise intelligence, as well as the challenge of interoperability when implementing digital technologies. Moreover, students will undertake optional work presenting modern digital technologies and analysing them in business terms. Real business analysis is also part of the course’s material.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Electronic Supply Chain

The module is designed for increasing the efficiency of the main supply chain processes (e.g. procurement, warehousing and freight transport) and for minimizing the operational cost via the use of the Internet and advanced information systems (IS). The module drills down into IS such as warehouse management systems, vehicle routing systems, fleet management systems, etc. that are mainly used for the optimization of the key supply chain processes as well as for the increase of the customer service level.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Project Management for Information Systems Development

The aim of the course is to familiarise students with modern techniques and methods of ICT project management and development of information systems. The course starts by introducing the basic concepts of project management, such as a project’s lifecycle (design, organisation, programming, and evaluation of results), as well as related tools and methodologies (Gantt, PERT, CPM, CPM-Cost, PRINCE2, project management, etc.). Following that, these concepts will be linked to the specific problem of ICT project management (software, infrastructures, integrated information systems, etc.). In this context, the implementation of relevant methodologies such as serial (e.g. Waterfall) and iterative techniques (Agile, Spiral etc.) will be presented, as well as relevant case studies. Finally, the correlation of the above with the wider context of an information system’s lifecycle will be analysed.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Product Development Methods and Practices

The aim of the course is to familiarise students with the methods of designing/ developing digital products. Based on modern management methods and procedures, students will learn to perceive business needs, understand customer needs, design prototypes, record development requirements, develop verification and validation documents, as well as track success through the use of metrics. The course will introduce the principles of design thinking, lean startup and flexible product development (e.g. Scrum, Kanban, eXtreme Programming). For their course assignment, students will be divided into groups and undertake the development and testing of an idea for a digital product (with or without the use of coding), which will be presented in the classroom.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Emerging Information and Communication Technologies

The course’s objective is to investigate the impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) on sustainable urban development. Specifically, the course’s aim is to analyse methodologies and models that can support the utilisation of new/innovative technologies in an urban environment to provide the necessary services and infrastructure that will maximize social, economic and environmental benefits. The course will present models for composition of multidimensional data, as well as integrated assessment frameworks pertaining to cities and organisations with regard to the effective integration of intelligence into their functions in every dimension of sustainable development. In addition, one of the course’s objectives is to assess systems that can support the design of new models of economic development at a local or regional level, by exploiting intelligent technologies, as well as natural resources and human/social capital. Individual applications of such systems at a city and building level will be presented extensively, along with the results they produced concerning specific economic, social and environmental indicators.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Business Analytics

The course’s aim is to introduce social media data analysis in order to draw conclusions for the development of business strategies and marketing plans.

The course will present:

• Social media analytics lifecycle (tracking, mining, analysis, visualisation)
• Tools for extracting, managing and analysing various data (texts such as tweets and comments, network data such as Facebook friendship networks and follow-following networks on the Twitter network, actions such as likes, shares, views, location data, etc.) offered on social networks
• Marketing and business intelligence applications

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

eBusiness Summer School

The eBiz Summer School (eBSS) is designed to introduce participants to the world of multi-channel marketing and provide them with the advanced technical skills needed to identify, engage in and develop customer relationships in a digital environment. The Summer School is targeted at marketing managers who want to improve their skills and learn about the latest developments through their co-operation with professionals who are willing to share their knowledge and experience. Participants will learn how to increase their business visibility through proper marketing strategies that exploit search engines, social networks and online advertising. Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the content of the course, as well as on their performance in the final individual project.

Participation in Business Plan Development Contest

The course’s aim is the practical application of knowledge and abilities acquired from the postgraduate programme through students’ participation in a real-life entrepreneurship competition, with the assistance and guidance of a faculty member. The proof of participation and business plan submitted in the competition are the course’s deliverables, according to which student performance will be evaluated. Students may submit proposals to the Aegean Start-ups Entrepreneurial Competition.

Internship in a Startup or Incubator

The course’s aim is the practical application of knowledge and abilities acquired from the postgraduate programme through participation in a business incubator for the development of a business idea. Proof of participation, the report of the activities and the implemented business idea are the course’s deliverables, according to which student performance will be evaluated.

MSc Thesis

The goal of the MSc thesis is to promote individual research and develop research skills and abilities. In writing their thesis, students can be assisted by a member of the faculty.

Startup Business Management

The objective of the course is to familiarize students with business and organisations management, with the main financial, production and marketing functions of enterprises, as well as with information systems and smart organisation tools. The course includes the following modules:

• Management functions
• Outer and inner environment for enterprises and organisations
• Enterprise organisation and analysis tools (SWOT, PEST, etc.)
• Business strategy and planning, and analysis tools (BCG matrix, strategy clock, portfolio cube, etc.)
• Marketing and research (4P mix, break-even analysis, budgeting, etc.)
• Digital/virtual companies and Internet business models
• Students project: making a business/master plan for a company or organisation and analysing it using the tools taught in the course

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The course focuses on the need to persistently innovate for the sustainable and robust business development in an international and rapidly changing technological environment. Topics of the course mainly cover knowledge management, patents and diversification strategy, innovation models and international business expansion. Particular emphasis is given to the concept of entrepreneurship and its role in the economic development and growth of the company, while simultaneously recognizing the key mechanisms of generating new knowledge and the typical phases in the development process of new ICT products and services.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Marketing

This course provides students with the relevant theoretical background, but mainly practical approaches to contemporary issues in the field of digital marketing. Emphasis is given on: a) communication strategy and promotion via various digital channels (web, mobile, social networks, etc.), b) consumer digital behaviour process and models, c) customization and personalization of digital content, d) usability of websites, e) CRM information systems and f) advanced digital marketing analytics.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Business Resources Management

In the last decade there have been extensive developments in the area of ‘Digital Management of Enterprise Resources’, which currently constitutes a major worldwide tool for innovation and new enterpreneurship, as well as for the efficiency and competitiveness of existing firms. Numerous software applications – digital tools have been developed, which support a wide range of methodologies/algorithms that perform various forms of management of different types of enterprise resources. Furthermore, they become easily and directly accesible and usable by firms of all sizes, at low cost, without having to make big investments, though Cloud/SaaS services.

Objective of this course is to provide basic knowledge and familiarization with the digital management of enterprise resources, using digital tools that implement various methodologies/algorithms/approaches for managing various types of enterprise resources, e.g. financial, human, technological (equipment), materials (and in general inventory), and also relational and knowledge resources, business networks, etc. We focus on the basic forms of digital management of enterprise resources, which are implemented by the main modules of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, which can however be implemented/provided by autonomous information systems/software packages.

The course consists of the following:

• Introduction
• General Accounting (Ledger) module
• Sales module
• Procurement module
• Inventory warehouse management module
• Production module
• Fixed assets module
• ERP systems implementation
• Exploitation for supporting innovation and enterpreneurship research

This course also includes gaining direct hands-on experiences concerning the above modules. For each of them there is initially a description of the structure of its main files (both master and transaction files) as well as its functionality, and then follows a presentation and analysis of the latter in a real ERP environment, the Microsoft Navision ERP, implementation of a series of business scenarios in it, and then relevant assignments/small projects.

The asssessment of students in this course will be based on performance in the final exam, as well as in the above assignments/small projects.

Financial Administration

The purpose of the course is to provide students with the necessary knowledge regarding the financial operations of modern enterprises. The following subjects are discussed:

• Financial accounting: basic principles, financial statements, accounts and accounting events recording
• Financial analysis: evaluation of the financial performance of enterprises, analysis of accounting statements via financial ratios
• Cost accounting & budgets: basic principles and main techniques for cost accounting and budgeting
• Financial decisions: financing decisions and methods for economic evaluation of investments. Laboratory exercise on the evaluation of the financial operations of real enterprises.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Innovation: Special Issues and Case Studies

The aim of the course is to present real cases of digital innovation and their management. Studies include cases of success and failure of digital innovations. The reasons for the failure or success of each case are analysed. The course also includes presentations and interviews by market executives, creating an interactive communication with students on subjects chosen by the latter and the professor.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Startup Simulator

The objective of this course is to provide students with a realistic view of key management issues in the real world by applying the principles of management and decision-making to a modern simulation environment.

Participants, in teams, undertake the management of a newly created PC manufacturing and marketing company and assign themselves administrative roles that correspond to the company’s operations (general management, production, sales, marketing, financial administration). In this context, they try to draw up and implement a complete business plan in order to understand the way that a company’s operations are combined and interact; they also become aware of the impact of competition, which requires constant analysis of the circumstances, as well as decision-making at a tactical and operational level.

Additionally, the course includes lectures that focus on important issues of strategic management and business planning, as well as the management of a company’s individual operations. Particular emphasis is placed on providing and discussing representative, real-life examples from well-known companies and organizations.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Big, Open and Linked Data Management

The aim of this course is to familiarise students with the management of different data from various sources. The course will present the different types of data (big, linked, ledger), as well as tools for their management (R, Linda). Sources of open data from around the world will also be presented with regards to their utilisation and the production of value-added services. The course will include assignments concerning tools used for managing different types of data, as well as methods for their analysis. Students of the course will be able to work as data analysts.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

Digital Product Development Methods and Practices

The aim of the course is to familiarise students with the methods of designing/ developing digital products. Based on modern management methods and procedures, students will learn to perceive business needs, understand customer needs, design prototypes, record development requirements, develop verification and validation documents, as well as track success through the use of metrics. The course will introduce the principles of design thinking, lean startup and flexible product development (e.g. Scrum, Kanban, eXtreme Programming). For their course assignment, students will be divided into groups and undertake the development and testing of an idea for a digital product (with or without the use of coding), which will be presented in the classroom.

Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the weekly content of the course. For their final assessment, students are evaluated based on their performance in the final exam and in individual or group projects.

eBusiness Summer School

The eBiz Summer School (eBSS) is designed to introduce participants to the world of multi-channel marketing and provide them with the advanced technical skills needed to identify, engage in and develop customer relationships in a digital environment. The Summer School is targeted at marketing managers who want to improve their skills and learn about the latest developments through their co-operation with professionals who are willing to share their knowledge and experience. Participants will learn how to increase their business visibility through proper marketing strategies that exploit search engines, social networks and online advertising. Students are evaluated based on attendance and active participation in both class discussions and decisions concerning the content of the course, as well as on their performance in the final individual project.

Participation in Business Plan Development Contest

The course’s aim is the practical application of knowledge and abilities acquired from the postgraduate programme through students’ participation in a real-life entrepreneurship competition, with the assistance and guidance of a faculty member. The proof of participation and business plan submitted in the competition are the course’s deliverables, according to which student performance will be evaluated. Students may submit proposals to the Aegean Start-ups Entrepreneurial Competition.

Internship in a Startup or Incubator

The course’s aim is the practical application of knowledge and abilities acquired from the postgraduate programme through participation in a business incubator for the development of a business idea. Proof of participation, the report of the activities and the implemented business idea are the course’s deliverables, according to which student performance will be evaluated.

MSc Thesis

The goal of the MSc thesis is to promote individual research and develop research skills and abilities. In writing their thesis, students can be assisted by a member of the faculty.