Course syllabus for Entrepreneurship in the welfare state

Entreprenörskap i välfärdsstaten

Essential data

Course code: 2XX084
Course name: Entrepreneurship in the welfare state
Credits: 7.5
Form of Education: Higher education, study regulation of 2007
Main field of study: Bioentrepreneurship
Level: AV - Second cycle
Grading scale: Fail (F), fail (Fx), sufficient (E), satisfactory (D), good (C), very good (B) or excellent (A)
Department: Department of Learning, informatics, Management and Ethics
Decision date: 2024-09-11
Course syllabus valid from: Spring semester 2025

Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

  • Demonstrate ability to account for knowledge of how innovations and entrepreneurship in publicly funded welfare services interact with regulations, organisation and practices in different welfare state contexts.
  • Demonstrate ability to analyze how innovation and entrepreneurship interplay with gender and intersectional inequalities, such as race/ethnicity and class, in the context of welfare services.
  • Demonstrate ability to reflect upon ethical dilemmas attached to innovation and entrepreneurship in publicly funded welfare, such as equality between citizens and quality of services

Content

The aim of this course is to provide in-depth knowledge about innovation and entrepreneurship in publicly funded welfare by exploring how innovation and entrepreneurship is regulated, organized and practiced in three areas of welfare services; healthcare, residential care for children and youth and long-term care for older and disabled people. The motivating question of the course is: under what conditions can innovation and entrepreneurship in publicly funded welfare services benefit both quality and equality? Findings for Sweden will be compared and contrasted with research on Anglo-Saxon and Asian countries, where the context of welfare services differs compared to Sweden.

The course will provide knowledge about:

  • Theories and concepts related to innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Regulation, organization and practices of innovation and entrepreneurship in healthcare, residential care for children and youth and long-term care for older and disabled people
  • The interplay between gender and intersectional inequalities, such as race/ethnicity and class, and innovation and entrepreneurship in welfare services
  • Ethical dilemmas attached to innovation and entrepreneurship in welfare services, such as differences between consumers and users of welfare services

The course is offered within the framework of the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship. Responsible institution: Stockholm University

Teaching methods

The teaching consists of lectures, seminars and group work, and requires a significant portion of self-study on the part of students. The language of instruction is English. The teaching takes place entirely on campus.

Certain elements of the course require mandatory attendance and/or written supplementary assignments.

Examination

Assessment for the course will be continuous and is carried throughout the different course activities. Each assessment task is weighted in relation to its importance in the overall assessment of the course. The student’s results from the different assessment tasks are added up to a total course score that will then translate into the final grade for the course.

Assessment tasks

The course contains the following weighted assessment tasks:

  1. Individual written home exam: assesses intended learning outcomes 1 and 2; constitutes 70% of total course points. 
  2. Group submisson: assesses intended learning outcome 3; constitutes 30% of total course points.

The examination is conducted in English

Literature and other teaching aids

Literature will be announced in connection to the start and communicated to enrolled students.