Executive Education | Knowledge at Work

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Master of Management in the field of

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND NEW VENTURE CREATION

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A message from the programme director

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Core structure

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Why WBS Master of Management in the field of Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation?

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Purpose and relevance of the degree

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Details of degree: Modular and research activities

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Entrepreneurship theme at WBS

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How to apply

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Ranked in Eduniversal Top 100 Best Masters and MBAs

Contents

A message from the programme director

The one-year degree in the Master of Management (Specialisation in the field of Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation) at Wits Business School (WBS) reflects the global trend towards universities being instrumental in creating relevant knowledge and developing skills in entrepreneurship. This rigorous and intense programme, supported by one of the WBS differentiating pillar themes, Entrepreneurship, is focused on creating and disseminating higher-level entrepreneurial knowledge and skills which translate into venture creation and research capacity building. Entrepreneurship education is a growing part of the fabric of educational institutions around the globe, with students demonstrating a keen eagerness to learn from best practice. Through exposure to the latest and best research available on entrepreneurship, myths are systematically dispelled that exist in the popular press surrounding entrepreneurship. The programme adopts an evidence-based approach which follows the scienceinformed practice of entrepreneurship (this

includes the systematic accumulation and interpretation of evidence from the field of entrepreneurship scholarship). The purpose of the degree is that a Master’s degree, specialising in entrepreneurship, facilitates entrepreneurial higher learning and fosters a culture of entrepreneurship. The degree is differentiated and positioned apart from similar offerings with its focus on research and the adoption of an evidencebased approach. The emphasis of the content is on locality and contingency, which results in the endless dynamic of creating and exploiting new knowledge and opportunities. Entrepreneurship encompasses a variety of disciplines and professions where there has been a shift in entrepreneurial education away from business start-up and ownership to highlight instead the range of associated careers and professions that contribute to and are intrinsically linked to the economic outcomes associated with entrepreneurship. This presents an opportunity for balancing pure theory development with practice-based

Boris Urban (PhD) Professor and Chair in Entrepreneurship Director: Master of Management in the field of Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation

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Message from the Entrepreneurship Theme programme director at WBS

theorising and adopting an epistemological approach that employs various ‘world views’ across the spectrum towards entrepreneurial education. The programme is successfully institutionalised at WBS and attracts students from a diverse background of education and experience. Past students include CEOs, SME consultants, academics, corporate entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, nascent entrepreneurs, scientists, professionals, and artists. The Masters is focused on high impact, systemic entrepreneurship and attempts to elevate the field beyond policy discourse, with its research intensive approach. During the programme the more nuanced and complex relationships are unveiled in order to identify differential typologies and evaluations and impacts of entrepreneurial