UCIL21331
Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
- Semester 1
- Face-to-face delivery
- 10 credits
About
How do people think and act entrepreneurially, and can this be developed?
This unit, led by Jonathan Styles, explores entrepreneurship as more than simply starting a business.
This course explores entrepreneurship as a mindset, a way of thinking, and a set of behaviours that can create value across a wide range of contexts, including business, science, the creative industries, sport, social enterprise, and the not-for-profit sector.
Throughout the unit, you will examine what it means to be entrepreneurial and enterprising, how entrepreneurial capabilities are developed, and how these skills can be applied in both new ventures and established organisations. You will engage with contemporary theory alongside real-world examples of entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs working in complex and uncertain environments.
Key questions explored include:
- What makes someone entrepreneurial?
- Are entrepreneurial mindsets innate or developed?
- What skills and behaviours support success?
- How can entrepreneurial thinking create economic, social, cultural, or scientific value?
- How can you develop your own entrepreneurial capabilities for future careers?
A key focus of this unit is personal and professional development. Through reflection and applied activities, you will evaluate your strengths, interests, and areas for growth, and create a Personal Development Roadmap aligned to your future ambitions.
- This unit forms part of the Enterprise Challenge.
Unit details
What should I know about this unit?
UCIL21331 - Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
- Semester 1
- Face-to-face delivery
- 10 credits
- Level 2
- Alliance Manchester Business School
This unit forms part of the Enterprise Challenge.
Throughout the unit, you will critically explore what makes individuals entrepreneurial and enterprising, how entrepreneurial competencies are developed, and how these capabilities can be applied within both entrepreneurial and organisational settings. You will examine contemporary entrepreneurship theory alongside real-world examples of entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs operating in complex and uncertain environments.
A central feature of the course is personal and professional development. Through reflective learning activities, applied analysis, and self-development tools, you will evaluate your own strengths, aspirations, and areas for growth. This learning culminates in the creation of a Personal Development Roadmap tailored to your future ambitions; whether entrepreneurial, intrapreneurial, or within more traditional career pathways.
The unit is designed for students from all disciplines and encourages collaboration across different academic backgrounds, helping you develop transferable skills including critical thinking, communication, teamwork, reflective practice, and self-directed learning.
Students also have the opportunity to engage with real-world enterprise activity through the optional Manchester Enterprise Challenge, enabling you to apply your learning beyond the classroom (through Partnered Enabled Learning) while building professional experience and networks.
This unit explores entrepreneurship as a mindset, a set of behaviours, and a way of creating value across different contexts. You will examine who entrepreneurs are, how entrepreneurial capabilities develop, and how entrepreneurial thinking can be applied in business, social, creative, scientific, and organisational settings.
Through theory, case studies, applied activities, and guest speakers, you will develop an understanding of the skills, behaviours, and attributes linked to entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial success. The unit also supports you to build your own entrepreneurial mindset through reflection and practice.
By the end of the unit, you will be able to:
- Evaluate entrepreneurial behaviours across different contexts
- Analyse the skills and attributes that support an entrepreneurial mindset
- Reflect on your strengths, values, and development needs
- Identify opportunities for personal and professional growth
- Create a Personal Development Roadmap aligned to your goals
- Develop transferable skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and self-directed learning
This unit is open to students from all disciplines and helps you build skills for entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, and employability.
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse and evaluate entrepreneurial behaviour across a range of contexts
- Assess the skills, attributes, and competencies that support value creation in complex environments
- Apply entrepreneurship theories and concepts to explore behaviour and personal development
- Reflect on your strengths, motivations, and areas for development
- Create and justify a Personal Development Roadmap aligned to your goals
- Communicate your analysis and development plans effectively
- Demonstrate key transferable skills, including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and self-management
Indicative topics covered in this unit include:
- Entrepreneurship as a mindset, including entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and enterprising behaviour across sectors
- Key theories, models, and research approaches used to understand entrepreneurial thinking and practice
- Core entrepreneurial competencies and behaviours, such as creativity, resilience, opportunity recognition, and value creation
- Real-world case studies from business, science, the creative industries, sport, and the not-for-profit sector
- Personal and professional development, including reflection, self-awareness, goal setting, and lifelong learning
- Development of transferable skills and a Personal Development Roadmap aligned to your future goals
This unit is delivered face-to-face.
- 10 x 2-hour lectures
- Formative task: an individual slide-deck: a set of PowerPoint slides,10 slides max (0%)
- Summative task: a group poster, with individual reflection, analysing an entrepreneur (30%)
- Individual report: self-development roadmap (2000 words) (70%)
- Jonathan Styles
The Enterprise Challenge combines enterprise UCIL units with a community-based enterprise project.
Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset is one of the 10 credit enterprise UCIL units you can study as part of completion of this challenge.
UCIL units are designed to be accessible to undergraduate students from all disciplines.
UCIL units are credit-bearing and it is not possible to audit UCIL units or take them for additional/extra credits. You must enrol following the standard procedure for your School when adding units outside of your home School.
If you are not sure if you are able to enrol on UCIL units you should contact your School Undergraduate office. You may wish to contact your programme director if your programme does not currently allow you to take a UCIL unit.
You can also contact the UCIL office if you have any questions.
This unit is also available with a different course unit code. To take a UCIL unit you must choose the unit with a UCIL prefix.
How to enrol
UCIL units are designed to be accessible to undergraduate students from all disciplines. Depending on your School enrolment can be completed in one of two ways:
Enrolment using the Course Selection System
You may be able to enrol directly onto a UCIL unit using the Course Unit Enrolment System.
Enrolment via your School
If you cannot see the UCIL unit you wish to study or it is blocked out on the Course Unit Enrolment System you may need to request approval to study the unit directly from your School.
Please get in touch with the UCIL team at ucil@manchester.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Feedback
The delivery of this unit has been thoroughly engaging and it covered a broad range of topics at an accessible level. I have been really impressed and wanted to recognise the staff's brilliant efforts and thank the department for the opportunity to study this topic outside of my degree.
Meah Worsencroft
English Literature and American Studies student
