Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Credits: 6

Schedule: 01.02.2022 - 29.04.2022

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Lidia Borisova, Lauri Järvilehto, Martin Kidron

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

Lauri Järvilehto

Lidia Borisova

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• applies in this implementation

  Off the bat, startups and philosophy seem like oil and water. Startups are all about hustling to get things done quick and dirty. Philosophy is about quiet contemplation, slowing down and deep consideration. However, anyone really hoping to succeed as an entrepreneur needs also to learn to change frames of thinking, evaluate evidence critically and argue their position powerfully – all central philosophical skills.

  In the Startup Philosophy course, you will learn about key philosophical ideas, such as the nature of reality, how we generate and evaluate knowledge, how the scientific method works and how to make a strong argument. These concepts and ideas are studied on one hand in the light of classical philosophical works by, for example, Plato, William James and Ludwig Wittgenstein. At the same time, the Aalto Ventures Program teachers will plant the concepts firmly into actual practical questions concerning starting and running a startup venture.

  Ultimately, all great founders had always the capability of seeing beyond the obvious. In this sense, they have almost without exception been capable of deep and sometimes even surprising philosophical thinking, even if they may not have been able to dress their thoughts in the garb of classical philosophy. By learning these philosophical concepts and ideas you can probe deeper into the very foundations of your ideas and ways of working.

  
  

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• applies in this implementation

  Grading is pass/fail

  
  

DETAILS

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• applies in this implementation

  Learning outcomes:

  After the course students will be able to (Bloom’s taxonomy):

  ·        communicate ideas with reasonable argumentations and sell their ideas (argumentation, debating);

  ·        think critically and with sustainable lenses;

  ·        critically interpret data and question conventions;

  ·        get to the root cause of the phenomenon, dissect complex problems;

  ·        spot epistemic boundaries (also your boundaries) and know how to break through them;

  ·        practice scientific method in product development and customer research;

  ·        learn the mindset and tools to improve your professional and personal life - self-assessment and self-development;

  ·        think creatively – breaking out of the box;

  ·        see the big picture and make connections - systemic thinking.

  
  

Details on the schedule

• applies in this implementation

  Contact sessions twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays): 2h. theoretical part (lecture) + 2 h. facilitated workshop. Also, every week students meet in teams to discuss the topics and reflect. The course will end as an open event where students will be able to demonstrate their strong argumentation skills in the form of debates about course topics.

  
  

Description