What is the Innovation Arena program
Innovation Arena is a structured, guided program that equips you with the practical skills to develop and scale new products and services, either as a new venture or as an intrapreneur, driving change within organisations.
Innovation Arena aims to build founders and innovative professionals, not simply build startups. Drawing on empirically tested methods and approaches used to coach elite athletes and high performing business leaders, the QUT Entrepreneurial Performance Mindset framework will be used to train you in the essential psychological factors determining entrepreneurial success.
Entrepreneurial Performance Mindset
“What we've learned from our program offerings such as Growth Lab is that the Entrepreneurial Performance Mindset is foundational to developing an idea, and the greatest outcome from entrepreneurial endeavours is not necessarily the startup launch or progress, but rather the personal development of its founders stemming from their entrepreneurial mindset.”
Dr Marcia Mattushek
QUT Entrepreneurship
What's involved?
Innovation Arena INITIATE and EXECUTE! is a structured, guided program made up of two modules that equip you with the practical skills to develop and scale new products and services, either as a new venture or as an intrapreneur, driving change within organisations.
The Innovation Arena program is part of the Startup Year initiative supported by the Australian Federal Government.
Innovation Arena INITIATE
The INITIATE module is an in-depth, intensive, and experiential learning program for those interested in taking new ideas to the world and using entrepreneurship as a bridge their studies and their career.
INITIATE is designed to guide participants towards ideating and validating a business idea or initiative that has the potential to add value to a clearly defined customer or stakeholder group.
Participants will NOT require any previous business experience or have an established start-up idea in order to enrol in this program.
Participants will be guided through the process of identifying a potential customer segment or market, clearly identifying the needs and wants of that segment and how they will develop a product or service adding value to those customers or users.
Successful completion of INITIATE will allow participants to enrol in EXECUTE! with an aim to further develop and build their business entity.
| Innovation Arena INITIATE | |
|---|---|
| Applications open | 1 October 2024 |
| Applications close | 28 February 2025 |
| Program dates | 3 March - 14 June 2025 |
Innovation Arena EXECUTE!
The EXECUTE! module extends on the work achieved in the INITIATE module to build founders and innovative professionals, not simply build startups.
In this module you will validate your proposed solution, build your business model around your proposed product or service, establish a pricing strategy and demonstrate that customers are genuinely willing to pay and use what you are offering them. You will end the module by determining the size of future target markets and develop long-term product and customer engagement plans.
Drawing on empirically tested methods and approaches used to coach elite athletes and high performing business leaders QUT’s Entrepreneurial Performance Mindset (EPM) framework will be used to train you in the essential psychological factors determining entrepreneurial success.
You will work alongside like-minded others, and with input from dedicated mentors, experienced practitioners, and knowledgeable professionals, gain unique understandings and feedback to develop your entrepreneurial opportunity or idea for a new product or service.
| Innovation Arena EXECUTE! |
|---|
| Program details will be confirmed in 2025 |
Program contact
Contact the QUT Entrepreneurship team at entrepreneurship@qut.edu.au
Delivery
Each module is built around a 15-week structure incorporating a series of workshops, on-line coaching sessions and virtual learning materials allowing you to develop a portfolio of outputs aligned to the establishment of your entrepreneurial venture or innovation initiative.
Each 15-week module is divided up into three main five-week blocks that each align to three relevant themes of disciplined entrepreneurship.
Each five-week block begins with a 2-day intensive workshop followed by a weekly workshop for the remaining four weeks.
The workshops are designed to incorporate experiential learning principles and allow you to engage with and practice the skills and activities you will be using in order to progress your new venture / innovative idea.
Themes
| Innovation Arena INITIATE | |
|---|---|
| Theme 1 Understand Your Customer | During this theme you will outline the nature and key attributes of a “problem worth solving”. You will provide details of how you have validated that the problem or need identified represents a legitimate opportunity for the establishment of a new venture. You will also provide in detail the defining characteristics of the customer whose “problem you are solving”. |
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Theme 2 Meeting Customer Needs | In this theme you will clearly articulate the features and benefits of your product and service and the value it offers to your target market. You will then map out the competitive position of your proposed product or service, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your position, what will be needed to build a “moat” and what will be the possible responses from your competitors. |
| Theme 3 Developing Customer Channels | In the final theme you will profile, map and stack-rank the key roles/stakeholders that represent the makeup of your customer’s Decision-Making Unit (DMU). Building on your DMU profile you will then develop a strategy to acquire your first paying customers. |
| Innovation Arena EXECUTE! | |
|---|---|
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Theme 1 Achieving Value Capture | During this theme you will begin to build your business model around your proposed product or service, you will establish a pricing strategy, calculate the potential Life Time Value (LTV) of your customers and determine the Cost of Customer Acquisition (COCA). On completion of this theme you will have confirmed the financial sustainability of your proposed venture or innovation project. |
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Theme 2 Solution Validation | In this theme you will validate your proposed solution, testing the key assumptions you have made about your target customers, begin to design and build out your Minimal Viable Business Product (MVBP) and demonstrate that customers are genuinely willing to pay and use what you are offering them. |
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Theme 3 Scaling Your Business | In the final theme you will begin to launch your product and/or service to the world, determining the size of future target markets, develop long-term product and customer engagement plans and interact with the broader innovation and entrepreneurial eco-system. |
Cost
- Each module (INITIATE or EXECUTE!) costs $6360
If applicants have graduated in the last three years they will be eligible for Startup-HELP funding.
What you receive
On successful completion of each Innovation Arena module (INITIATE or EXECUTE!), you will receive a QUT Certificate of Completion.
You will also be eligible to receive up to six Innovation Arena micro-credentials:
- IA1 Understanding Your Customer
- IA2 Meeting Customer Needs
- IA3 Developing Customer Channels
- IA4 Achieving Value Capture
- IA5 Solution Validation
- IA6 Scaling Your Business
In addition, in both INITIATE and EXECUTE! you will receive:
- Up to $2000 Venture Incentive Funding per module on successful completion of your new venture key milestones
- Access to MIT’s ORBIT Entrepreneurship Artificial Intelligence platform to help you develop your idea
Participants of INITIATE and EXECUTE! will receive complimentary copies of:
- Aulet, B. (2024) Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup
- Cheek, P. (2024) Disciplined Entrepreneurship: Startup Tactics
QUT Entrepreneurship facilitators and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence will guide you through each of the 24 Steps of Disciplined Entrepreneurship to ensure you give yourself and your new venture or initiative the best possible chance of success.
Your workshops will also include masterclass sessions held by QUT Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiR) and self-development activities related to the development of their Entrepreneurial Performance Mindset (EPM).
Each weekly face-to-face workshop will be augmented by a facilitated on-line peer coaching session. You will also have the option of connecting with a QUT Entrepreneurship staff member for an online consultation session if required.
We'll support you
QUT Entrepreneurship facilitators and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence will guide you through each of the 24 Steps of Disciplined Entrepreneurship to ensure you give yourself and your new venture or initiative the best possible chance of success.
Your workshops will also include masterclass sessions held by QUT Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiR) and self-development activities related to the development of their Entrepreneurial Performance Mindset (EPM).
Each weekly face-to-face workshop will be augmented by a facilitated on-line peer coaching session. You will also have the option of connecting with a QUT Entrepreneurship staff member for an online consultation session if required.
As a participant in Innovation Arena you will be expected to:
- attend your orientation session before your program starts
- attend all face-to-face workshops and on-line mentoring sessions
- contribute to workshop discussions and activities and complete all your key tasks on time
- engage and connect with the QUT Entrepreneurship teaching and mentoring team to help you stay on track
- engage with the Innovation Arena INITIATE and EXECUTE! QUT Canvas page throughout the teaching period
- regularly check your QUT student email for correspondence from QUT Entrepreneurship staff
- adhere to the rules and policies of QUT, as outlined in the QUT Student Code of Conduct.
You are not required to have any previous business experience or have an established start-up idea in order to enrol in the INITIATE program.
Applications for Innovation Arena INITIATE are currently open.
Expressions of interest for Innovation Arena EXECUTE! are currently open.