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RWTHx: Thinking & Acting like an Entrepreneur

4.0 stars
6 ratings

Discover the entrepreneur inside of you – learn what it takes to turn an idea into a real business and how to put this approach to use within your own company.

Thinking & Acting like an Entrepreneur
6 weeks
6–8 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

20,594 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Feb 3, 2025

About this course

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All of today’s well-known companies got started the exact same way: as an idea within someone’s head. While the idea itself is an important prerequisite for success, it was rather what these individuals did with it that enabled them to become the success that they are today. You can learn to think and act like these innovators too. This course helps you to turn your idea into a real-life business and make it a commercial success:

Find and assess your idea

  • What does it actually mean to be entrepreneur?
  • Are entrepreneurs born or made?
  • How to actually find an idea to start a business?

Turn your idea into action

  • How to deal with uncertainty?
  • What are the core questions that I have to answer to make my idea successful?
  • How to assemble the right team of people to help me get my idea off the ground?

Set yourself up to succeed

  • How to know what my customers really expect?
  • Do I have to stick to my original idea no matter what?
  • What are typical traps into which entrepreneurs fall at the start of their career?

We will walk you through real-life examples of the entrepreneurial process to help you understand how it differs from that of established companies and how you can apply it for your own purposes. A series of homework exercises, tutorials and case studies will enable you to develop a perspective that goes beyond the theoretical scope to prepare you for actual situations.

By doing so, this course will not only give you specific tools to start you own venture but also to transfer the benefits of entrepreneurial thinking to a corporate context, thereby preparing you for leading positions in Business Development , Strategy and General Management and of course as an Entrepreneur. Learners from the industries of Business Development and Entrepreneurs from all over the world already completed the course.

This course is part of the "Managing Technology & Innovation: How to deal with disruptive change" MicroMasters program designed to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting field. In order to qualify for the MicroMasters Credential, you will need to earn a Verified Certificate in each of the six courses of the RWTHx MicroMasters program.

At a glance

What you'll learn

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  • How entrepreneurs discover their business ideas and determine their commercial potential
  • How to distinguish entrepreneurial and managerial thought patterns
  • The specific skill set required to launch a new venture

Learner testimonials

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"Very insightful course. It gives appropiate tools to launch your business. Also, it provides interviews with succesfull entrepreneurs talking about the course topics." - Previous Learner

"Not only did the course cover theoretical aspects of an entrepreneurial mindset, it also delved deep into how the practicalities work in the real world. The very structure of the course could easily evoke entrepreneurial spirits among the learners, and pave way for an organized approach for ideation, commercialization and monetising a business opportunity.
Highly recommend for present and future entrepreneurs and look forward to many such courses from RWTH TIME, kudos to the professors and edX community!" - Previous Learner

Frequently Asked Questions

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Our MicroMasters program consists out of six courses. To gain the MicroMasters credential you need to complete all of the courses. You’re free to choose in which order you would like to take the courses but the chronological order is recommended.

There are always several courses open for enrollment in different runs. To avoid any confusion you’ll find a list of all start dates for the future courses in the different runs following.

It’s not necessary to complete all six courses of the same run to receive the MicroMasters Credential. It only matters that you received a certificate in all six courses in general.

MTI001x : Managing Disruptive Change
MTI002x : Customer-Centric Innovation
MTI003x : Innovation and Creativity Management
MTI004x : Thinking & Acting like an Entrepreneur
MTI005x : Strategic Management: From Intuition to Insight
MTI006x : Strategic Management: From Insight to Decision

MTI – Run 4

MTI004x – 30 January 2019

MTI005x – 27 March 2019

MTI006x – 29 May 2019

MTI – Run 5

MTI001x – 14 November 2018

MTI002x – 16 January 2019

MTI003x – 13 March 2019

MTI004x – 15 May 2019

MTI005x – 17 July 2019

MTI006x – 18 September 2019

MTI – Run 6

MTI001x – 06 March 2019

MTI002x – 08 May 2019

MTI003x – 10 July 2019

MTI004x – 11 September 2019

MTI005x – 06 November 2019

MTI006x – 15 January 2020

MTI – Run 7

MTI001x – 12 June 2019

MTI002x – 14 August 2019

MTI003x – 16 October 2019

MTI004x – 15 January 2020

MTI005x – 18 March 2020

MTI006x – 13 May 2020

MTI – Run 8

MTI001x – 25 September 2019

MTI002x – 27 November 2019

MTI003x – 29 January 2020

MTI004x – 25 March 2020

MTI005x – 27 May 2020

MTI006x – 29 July 2020

MTI – Run 9

MTI001x – 08 January 2020

MTI002x – 11 March 2020

MTI003x – 06 May 2020

MTI004x – 08 July 2020

MTI005x – 09 September 2020

MTI006x – 04 November 2020

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. edX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

This course is part of Managing Technology & Innovation: How to deal with disruptive change MicroMasters Program

Learn more 
Expert instruction
6 graduate-level courses
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
9 months
6 - 8 hours per week

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