Module: Life

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Life
Module Code	ENI1012 (ITS: SB104)
Faculty	DCU Business School	School	DCU Business School
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	10

Description

ENI1012 comprises two components: Business 101 (delivered in the first two weeks of term) and Learning Innovation for Enterprise (LIFE) (from Week 3 onwards). Business 101 is an immersive, interdisciplinary introductory experience for all first-year DCU Business School students (750+). Delivered in the first two weeks of term, it uses experiential learning, such as live case studies with actors, VR-based team challenges, and innovative assessment, to move students beyond rote learning toward higher-order thinking, while also supporting early socialisation and their transition to university. Following this, Learning Innovation for Enterprise (LIFE) is a year-long, 10-credit module taken by all first-year DCU Business School students. Beginning in Week 3 of Semester One, LIFE builds on the foundations established in Business 101 by introducing students to how different types of enterprises operate and innovate. The module develops students’ enterprise skills and knowledge through a dynamic mix of lectures, entrepreneurial challenges, teamwork, hackathons, applied projects and guest presentations from industry professionals. Through LIFE, students gain practical insights into the realities of business by examining a wide range of organisational forms, including large corporate enterprises, family businesses, start-up ventures, and social enterprises. They also explore the critical role of innovation, learning how new ideas are developed and transformed into real-world business solutions. The module has received multiple national and international awards for its innovative teaching approach, including the 2022 ECIE Innovation & Entrepreneurship Teaching Excellence Award, shortlisting in the 2022 HE Innovate Awards, the 2020 European Consortium of Innovative Universities Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, the 2020 AACSB Innovations that Inspire Award, and the 2020 DCU President’s Award for Excellence in Team Teaching and Learning.

Learning Outcomes

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2. Comprehend the language of business – profit, revenue, costs – and perform basic evaluations of business performance in terms of these financial indicators.
5. 1
6. 1E37C967-819A-0001-2FE1-90A01EB91333
7. Explain the dimensions of running a business including marketing, strategy, human resource management and governance.
10. 2
11. 1E37C967-8656-0001-9655-29E017841A2A
12. Discuss at an introductory level the role of investment in business, how businesses can be financed and the implications of financing through debt and equity.
15. 3
16. 1E37C967-8D0A-0001-CBBF-17F71FC81798
17. Understand the fundamentals of effective teams, including optimising team communication, decision-making and creativity.
20. 4
21. 1E37C967-960F-0001-16D0-F640918C1E05
22. Consider contemporary research and insights surrounding the future of the workplace, the workforce, and the nature of work, including the role of technology and remote working.
25. 5
26. 1E37C968-1D02-0001-BF29-1CB051101E85
27. Engage with and reflect on enterprise-related content.
30. 6
31. 1E37C968-1E13-0001-D77C-17B0172052B0
32. Research the social, cultural and economic landscape to identify areas of innovation.
35. 7
36. 1E37C968-23E7-0001-B4ED-47201CC91654
37. Apply idea generation techniques to solve enterprise challenges.
40. 8
41. 1E37C968-259B-0001-32DB-A96F80B91B41
42. Discuss the main concepts and techniques relating to innovation and entrepreneurship.
45. 9
46. 1E37C968-28E7-0001-4EAE-14581FF033B0
47. Work collaboratively in teams to design and produce ‘research-ready’ innovation concepts in response to a client brief.
50. 10

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	6	Business 101 - Lectures (on-campus)
Workshop	3	Business 101 - Actor workshop
Assignment Completion	2	Business 101 - Individual reflective assignment
Lecture	24	LIFE (on-campus)
Online activity	20	LIFE - Online Loop based content
Portfolio Preparation	40	LIFE - Reflection and Portfolio
Group work	60	LIFE - Challenge-based projects
Workshop	5	LIFE - Social Innovation Hackathon
Independent Study	60	LIFE - Independent Study
Fieldwork	10	LIFE - Market Research for Assignments
Directed learning	20	LIFE - Independent reading of assigned material
Total Workload: 250

Section Breakdown
CRN	10116	Part of Term	Semester 1 & 2
Coursework	100%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	N
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Julie Bertz(Nee Griffin)	Module Teacher	Catherine Faherty, Colette Real

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Reflective journal	Completion of an individual reflective assignment based upon a 'live case study' presented in class by a team of actors.	0%	Week 3
Reflective journal	Students complete an individual reflective e-portfolio through Loop Reflect documenting their experience of the Entrepreneurship Challenge. The journal is also used to demonstrate engagement with lectures, completion of required readings, and interaction with curated learning materials available on Loop.	20%	Week 5
Group project	Students work in teams on an innovation challenge based on a live corporate brief. Using design thinking methods, teams develop and present a proposed solution to a real business problem, applying concepts and frameworks introduced in the module.	30%	Sem 1 End
Group project	Students work in teams to investigate how family businesses create value and sustain long-term success. Teams interview family business leaders and produce a documentary-style media output illustrating innovation within multi-generational firms. The project allows students to apply class concepts to real-life case studies.	30%	Week 19
Reflective journal	Students complete a reflective journal on Loop Reflect documenting their participation in a Social Innovation Hackathon. The e-portfolio captures learning from the event and associated lectures, encouraging reflection on social innovation, teamwork, and enterprise problem-solving.	20%	Sem 2 End

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Business
What is business; the purpose of business; short history of business; different economic systems.

Entrepreneurship and key business terms
Nature and purpose of entrepreneurship, costs, profits and risks in business.

Management
The role and objective of managers and human resource management in business; how are employees motivated; recognising employee stress and managing trade unions; how human resource management impacts on business performance.

Marketing
What is marketing; how is the function of marketing linked with the accounting function; how can a business connect with its customers.

Accounting, Finance and Economics
What is accounting; difference between financial accounting and management accounting; what do the profit and loss statements, balance sheet and cashflow statements tell the reader. Difference between debt and equity.

Teams
What are high performing teams, what are virtual teams. Optimising team creativity, communication, and decision making.

Future of work and technology
What is the future of work and technology.

Business 101
Business 101 is an immersive, interdisciplinary introductory experience for all first-year DCU Business School students.

Learning Innovation for Enterprise
Understand various types of enterprise including corporate enterprise, small-medium sized enterprise, family business, entrepreneurship and start-ups, and social enterprise and reflect on personal career aspirations.

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Poza, E. J. & Daugherty, M. S.: 2013, Family Business, 4th, Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.,
Moores, K., & Barrett, M.: 2010, Learning family business: Paradoxes and pathways, Bond University Press,

Articles:

0: Entrepreneurship Section, 524830, 1
Passion for what? Expanding the domains of entrepreneurial passion: Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 8, 24, 524831, 1, Chadwick, I. C., & Raver, J. L.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice: 44(2), 233, 524832, 1, Karami, M., Araujo, C. F., Tang, J., & Roldan, L. B., 2025
6(4): 659, 524833, 1, Kuratko, D. F., & Covin, J. G., 2025, Fifty years of entrepreneurship: Recalling the past, examining the present, & foreshadowing the future
524834: 1, Kuratko, D. F., Fisher, G., & Audretsch, D. B., 2021, Unraveling the entrepreneurial mindset, Small Business Economics, 57(4), 1681,
1: Liedtka, J., 2018, Why design thinking works, Harvard Business Review, 96(5), 72,
Christensen, C. M., Hall, T., Dillon, K., & Duncan, D. S.: 2016, Know your customers’ jobs to be done, Harvard Business Review, 94(9), 54, 524837
2023: Lego Takes Customers’ Innovations Further, MIT Sloan Management Review, 65(1), 524838, 1
Cultivating the four kinds of creativity: Harvard Business Review, 101(1-2), 138, 524825, 1,
524827: 1, 0, Schulze, W., Lubatkin, M. H., Dino, R. N. &. Buchholtz, A. K. (2001). Agency relationships in family firms: Theory and evidence. Organization Science, 12(2), 99-116.,
1: 0, Habbershon, T.G., Williams, M.L., Kaye, K. (1999). A resource-based framework for assessing the strategic advantages of family firms. Family Business Review, 12(1), 1-25.,
0: Diaz-Moriana, V., Clinton, E., Kammerlander, N., Lumpkin, G. T., & Craig, J. B. (2018). Innovation motives in family firms: A transgenerational view. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 104225871880, 524839, 1
Innovation with Limited Resources: Management Lessons from the German Mittelstand: Journal of Product Innovation Management, 35(1), 125, 524840, 1, Lansberg, I.
Harvard Business Review: 85(9), 92,

Other Resources

1:
421060: 1,
https://www.ycombinator.com: 421061, 1,
https://www.gemireland.com: 421062, 1,
https://www.mrgaryfox.com/podcast: