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Accessibility statement
An image to illustrate Entrepreneurship and innovation module
This module will develop your knowledge and understanding of different forms of innovative and entrepreneurial practice around the world and at different scales. It draws on relevant research evidence, theories, concepts and frameworks and addresses the relationship between innovation, entrepreneurship and policy at a conceptual and practical level. You'll develop skills in identifying, researching, and pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities to create sustainable business models. These skills include negotiating, influencing and networking in an entrepreneurial setting; creative problem-solving to develop practical solutions; working constructively and ethically on open-ended challenges; and the capacity to learn from personal experiences and those of others.
This module has five blocks, which will give you a strong foundation in entrepreneurship, including practical skills and specialist knowledge, combined with a broader appreciation of entrepreneurship and innovation in a variety of contexts.
Block 1: Introducing innovation and entrepreneurship
The first block provides you with the essential foundations for studying this module. It is designed to give you an opportunity to start exploring the often surprising world of innovation and entrepreneurship, appreciate the many different types and varieties to be found, and learn some of the core terminology, theories and concepts. You’ll be introduced to real-world examples, including successful and unsuccessful ventures so that you can start making useful connections between research and practice.
Block 2: Developing ideas for opportunities
Block 2 equips you with the essential knowledge and skills to develop innovative ideas and create a viable business opportunity. You’ll become familiar with specialised terminology such as trust, risk, legitimacy, negotiation skills, networking, resource strategies for accessing finance, design thinking, problem-solving and creativity. Additionally, by listening to some entrepreneurs and looking at national and international businesses, you’ll gain insights on establishing new ventures successfully.
Block 3: Context matters
In this block, you'll examine how different contextual variables, at micro, meso and macro levels, affect entrepreneurship and innovation. You’ll be introduced to a number of concepts and ideas around different contexts. From working on case studies and real-world examples featuring both successful and unsuccessful ventures you'll gain an appreciation of how innovation and entrepreneurship are influenced by a wide variety of contextual factors.
Block 4: New Venture Challenge
Block 4 gives you the ability to develop a business idea and create a viable start-up proposal. You’ll be able to identify and evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities and determine their feasibility. This block promotes collaborative working as you’ll be working in small teams, which enhances your time management, networking and negotiation skills. You’ll work on your own pitch for presenting business ideas. Reflection is one of the key competencies that entrepreneurs should have, and you can develop this competency by reflecting on your learning from various activities in the New Venture Challenge.
Block 5: Reflection and integration
The final block is an opportunity to revisit and reflect on your experiences of learning from across the module to develop a deeper understanding of the topics covered. The activities will help you integrate and make connections between the skills, knowledge, and understanding you developed in earlier parts of the module and how your learning might positively affect your future career. You'll learn about the importance of entrepreneurial values and be introduced to various platforms that you can use to develop an entrepreneurial career if you wish to do so. You’ll also receive advice on preparing the end-of-module assessment.
By completing this module, you’ll be able to:
More broadly, you’ll develop essential entrepreneurial competencies and employability skills, including creativity, communication, negotiation, collaboration, networking, team building, initiative, self-management, resilience, and sectoral awareness. You'll also develop numeracy skills and digital literacy.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
You will also receive a module reader that includes an extended exposition and explanation of innovation and entrepreneurship concepts, as well as case-based illustrations.
Your learning will be further supported by:
B209 is an option module in our:
Entrepreneurship and innovation starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2032.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
This is an OU level 2 module. If you have no previous experience of studying business, it is strongly recommended that you first study An introduction to business management (B100).
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying B209 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
StartEndRegister byEngland fee
03 Oct 202630 Jun 202710 Sep 2026£4,088
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Please note: your permanent address/domicile will affect your fee status and, therefore, the fees you are charged and any financial support available to you. The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2027. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
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