GENE1500

GENE1500 Creative Entrepreneurship is an undergraduate course for UNSW students who want to tackle unsolved problems in the world through entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is best learnt through first-hand experience. Creative Entrepreneurship (GENE1500) aims to provide practical experience to teach students the foundational skillset necessary to embark on an entrepreneurial venture with real-world impact.

GENE1500 is offered in Summer Term, Term 1, Term 2, and Term 3.

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About GENE1500

Creative Entrepreneurship (GENE1500) is a General Education course offered to undergraduate UNSW students. Students will learn core concepts of entrepreneurship and be provided with the skillset and support to apply them throughout and beyond the duration of the course. This course is a unique opportunity to take the first steps in creating your own startup with the guidance of expert mentors, support structures, and the UNSW community to bring your ideas and companies to life.

GENE1500 is delivered within the Faculty of Engineering, offered in Summer Term, Term 1, Term 2, Term 3, and is worth 6 Units of Credit.  

Please refer to the links below for the current information and details regarding eligibility and enrolment. 

  • In this course, students will form multidisciplinary teams to identify, analyse, and propose a solution to a meaningful unsolved problem in the world.

    Students will develop experience in:  

    • Defining a problem area,

    • Critically evaluating an idea through the application of Design Thinking methodology, 

    • Identifying a market segment and competitor analysis, 

    • Building a network and working in a multidisciplinary team, 

    • Designing prototypes and experiments to validate concepts, and  

    • Communicating ideas for maximum impact in a pitch format. 

    After this course, students will gain: 

    • An entrepreneurial perspective that can be applied to future studies and work, 

    • A comprehensive skillset to identify problems worth solving, mobilise the people and resources to solve them, and approach the pathways to sell these ideas to create value,  

    • A network within UNSW Founders and the startup ecosystem to support the continuation of the work completed in GENE1500 or further entrepreneurial ventures, and  

    • Access to exclusive events such as the annual GENE1500 Showcase pitch competition. 

  • The GENE1500 Showcase is a pitch competition that is open exclusively to students that have been enrolled in and completed the GENE1500 course. In preparation for the showcase event, students will be given support and access to expert mentors to refine their business model, hone their presentation skills, and exercise the skills taught in GENE1500.

    The top ten team pitches will be selected to present at the Showcase, providing students with the opportunity to pitch to industry experts and compete for a monetary prize. 

    Showcase eligibility:  

    • The Showcase Pitch competition is open to all students who completed GENE1500 in the same year as the showcase.    

    • Students are eligible to pitch their idea created during their GENE1500 work, or a new idea that they have developed outside of the course. 

    • Students may apply with the team formed in GENE1500, or with a new team. Only the lead entrant must be a GENE1500 past student. 

  • GENE1500 is offered in Summer Term, Term 1, Term 2, Term 3.

    The GENE1500 Showcase events will be held twice per year.

  • If you have questions about GENE1500 or the Showcase, please direct them to mcic@unsw.edu.au with the subject line GENE1500.

Testimonials

100% of students told us through myExperience that they were happy with the overall quality of GENE1500. 

Here’s what some of the past GENE1500 students have said about their experience:  

James Wong (Student-founder of Aquaqore)

“I chose GENE1500 because I felt that it would give me a better understanding of how startups and companies work in general... this course will teach you a lot about the design process from ideation and initial sketches to a final built product”

Shruthi Annamalai (Student-founder of Maskerati)

“Being interested in creating solutions for pressing world problems, GENE1500 taught me the value of understanding an issue deeply enough to solve it. This course has equipped me with the resources and skills required to navigate the realm of entrepreneurship. If you’re an ambitious individual looking to bring your ideas to life, GENE1500 is the course for you!”

Joel Epshteyn (Student-founder of NotiFi)

“GENE1500 taught me the importance of first and solely focusing on a specific problem, before going straight into “solution-mode.”

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • No, you do not need to already have a startup idea prior to enrolling in GENE1500. During the course you will have the opportunity to work in a team to identify a problem and develop a solution that will form the basis of a startup. However, if you do already have a startup idea, you are encouraged to enrol and further develop your idea as part of a team within the course. This would also be a great opportunity to meet co-founders and gain support from experienced mentors. 

  • No, you will not be required to enrol in the course with a pre-formed team. Within the course tutorials, you will meet and interact with the other students to form a team and work with them for the remainder of the term. 

  • UNSW Founders offers a range of early-stage programs that are available to students who are interested in entrepreneurship. These include the Peter Farrell Cup pitch competition and the New Wave Program for female-identifying students. Unlike these programs, GENE1500 is an undergraduate course offered as General Education by the Faculty of Engineering. GENE1500 is worth 6 Units of Credit.  

  • Yes, students who enrol in GENE1500 are encouraged to apply their skills and learnings and participate in the other programs offered by UNSW Founders.  

  • There are a range of entrepreneurship-focussed units of study offered at UNSW for undergraduate students. These courses will have varying content and assessment structure, as well as potential variations in enrolment eligibility. To find out if GENE1500 is right for you, please contact mcic@unsw.edu.au to discuss.