Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Study in Innovation and Entrepreneurship prepares students to become entrepreneurial leaders who can transform innovative ideas into positive impact. They develop the mindsets, tools, and practical skills to disrupt our ways of ‘doing’ business, community, and policy with purpose. Students have the opportunity not only to collaborate with peers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to creatively solve real-world problems, but also to apply their learning in a range of areas that includes launching new ventures, product and service development, social and technological innovation for sustainability, music festivals and arts event management, and digital games. With the help of design thinking, agile project management, and experiential learning focused on innovators’ skills and actions, they develop a critical understanding of the grand challenges we are facing and learn to operate resiliently under ambiguity and uncertainty. Leveraging a pool of cross-faculty units and co-curricular activities like the start-up programs Genesis and Incubate, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship major facilitates diverse student project groups, co-creation and actual venture-building. Regardless of whether students seek to launch their own for-profit or social venture or to join an existing organisation as ‘intrapreneurs,’ they develop crucial future-of-work skills such as creativity, innovation management, and experience design. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship major brings together a multidisciplinary cohort of undergraduate students, academics, and practitioners to spark and drive innovation at the intersection of technological potential, enterprising spirit and social concern.

Options for studying Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Innovation and Entrepreneurship is available as both Table A major and minor options in the Bachelor of Commerce, the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws, the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Advanced Computing and Bachelor of Commerce.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship major and minor are also available to students not enrolled in a Commerce degree through the shared pool (Table S) - see the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook for details.

Please note. Students cannot complete both a major and a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship for their degree.

Pathways through the major and minor

The requirements for a major/minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship are spread out over three years of the degree (possibly four years if students are completing a combined Bachelor of Advanced Studies degree).

(i) Innovation and Entrepreneurship major

To achieve a major in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, students must complete 48 credit points comprising:

  • 12 credit points of 1000-level core units of study;
  • 6 credit points of 2000-level core units of study;
  • 12 credit points of 2000-level selective units of study;
  • 6 credit points of 3000-level core units of study; and
  • 12 credit points of 3000-level selective units of study.

A sample pathway for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship major (over three years of a degree) is listed below.

Note: All units listed are worth 6 credit points unless otherwise indicated.

Please Note. This sample progression is meant as an example only. Depending on unit prerequisites, students may be able to complete these units in a different sequence to that displayed in this table.

Year Session Units of study
First Semester 1 Core: SIEN1000 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Foundation
Semester 2 Core: SIEN1001 Innovators' Skills and Actions
Second Semester 1 Core: SIEN2001 Validating Ideas and Building Ventures Selective: 2000-level unit listed for major
Semester 2 Selective: 2000-level unit listed for major
Third Semester 1 Selective: 3000-level unit listed for major
Semester 2 Core: SIEN3600 Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Practice ** Selective: 3000-level unit listed for major

** Capstone unit for major – completed in the final semester of study for that major. This unit of study must be completed at the University of Sydney Business School.

For details of the core and selective units of study required for the major or minor please refer to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship section of the unit of study table, Table A, in this handbook.


Students can also refer to the University's Current Students website for progression examples for specific major/minor combinations for their degree.

(ii) Innovation and Entrepreneurship minor

To achieve a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, students must complete 36 credit points comprising:

  • 12 credit points of 1000-level core units of study;
  • 6 credit points of 2000-level core units of study;
  • 6 credit points of 2000-level selective units of study; and
  • 12 credit points of 3000-level selective units of study.

A sample pathway for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship minor (over three years of a degree) is listed below.

Note: All units listed are worth 6 credit points unless otherwise indicated.

Please Note. This sample progression is meant as an example only. Depending on unit prerequisites, students may be able to complete these units in a different sequence to that displayed in this table.

Year Session Units of study
First Semester 1 Core: SIEN1000 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Foundation
Semester 2 Core: SIEN1001 Innovators' Skills and Actions
Second Semester 1 Core: SIEN2001 Validating Ideas and Building Ventures
Semester 2 Selective: 2000-level unit listed for minor
Third Semester 1 Selective: 3000-level unit listed for minor
Semester 2 Selective: 3000-level unit listed for minor

For details of the core and selective units of study required for the major or minor please refer to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship section of the unit of study table, Table A, in this handbook.


Students can also refer to the University's Current Students website for progression examples for specific major/minor combinations for their degree.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship major students will be able to:

No. Major Learning Outcome
1 Analyse contemporary global and local challenges from multidisciplinary perspectives
2 Apply concepts and frameworks to identify opportunities to address contemporary global and local challenges through different types of innovation and/or entrepreneurship.
3 Apply creative, critical and design thinking to generate novel ideas and scope new business or social venture opportunities.
4 Validate an original idea and translate it into a prototype of an innovative solution that has credible potential for implementation and/or serving as the basis for launching a start-up.
5 Explain why different stakeholders may have divergent yet valid perspectives on value
6 Assess potential impacts of an innovation from the perspectives of diverse stakeholders and suggest ways to create shared value.
7 Apply principles of ethics and social responsibility throughout innovation and entrepreneurship processes to achieve desirable economic, social, and environmental outcomes.
8 Work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams to integrate diverse perspectives to design, develop and implement solutions that satisfy team members and stakeholders.
9 Effectively communicate ideas to diverse audiences by leveraging appropriate vocabulary and communication tools.
10 Apply knowledge about building a successful new business or social venture to specific real-world cases to generate sound, actionable recommendations for the innovators and entrepreneurs involved.

Further information

For further information regarding study in innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Sydney, please refer to the Discipline of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.