Improving business plan development and entrepreneurial skills through a project-based activity

Abstract

The present study reports the experience of a project-based activity similar to the ones developed by the Small Business Institute (SBI) program in which students are asked to plan an event. It is part of a Project Management course taught at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, in an Undergraduate course in Business Administration. The activity has been designed in such a way that it is expected to help students develop technical and entrepreneurial skills as it requires the use of critical thinking, quantitative methods and tools to interpret data for decision-making. The results show that active learning materialized in the form of project-based activities make courses more enjoyable for both instructors and students, and most importantly, contribute to develop students’ skills such as teamwork and critical thinking. However, while it is useful for students to gain some exposure to the material through pre-class readings and overview lectures, students do not fully understand and realize about their importance until they actively take part and reflect on the meaning of what they are learning.