Corporate Innovation & Entrepreneurship Courses

Purpose

This page is meant to show you connections between sustainability and core courses in a particular business major. In some cases, these connections may not yet be a part of the course. We are working on that! If you are a student, you can ask for these connections to be a part of the course. If you are a faculty member, you can integrate them in as you see fit.

Course descriptions are adapted from the Penn State University Bulletin. This is not a comprehensive list of courses in the major. Learn more about this major at Penn State Smeal Undergraduate Education. Penn State students can meet with who teach and do research in sustainability.

MGMT 425: New Venture Creation (MGMT/IST/ENTR/ENGR)

This course prepares students to be adaptive, globally minded, and technology savvy business leaders through a problem based learning approach. Students gain high value skills such as leadership, creativity, and confidence in uncertainty while developing and presenting real business models that address market needs.

Sustainable entrepreneurship questions to consider:

• How can new ventures make “the pie” bigger by making more money from solving societal problems?

• What are some major industries that stand to be disrupted by more sustainable business models?

• What are the ways that entrepreneurs can incorporate sustainability into their ventures?

MGMT 426: Invention Commercialization

This course partners student teams with Penn State inventions selected by the Intellectual Property Office to develop optimal commercialization strategies. While navigating real world challenges such as market uncertainty, interdisciplinary communication, and innovation resistance, students gain firsthand insight into why commercialization is a complex process. The course bridges technical, legal, and business perspectives to prepare students for successful invention to market transitions.

Sustainable entrepreneurship questions to consider:

• How can you discover the sustainable aspects of an invention/technology?

• What ways would you incorporate sustainable approaches into commercializing an invention?

• How will you evaluate the sustainable indicators for a commercialization plan of an invention?

MGMT 427W: Managing an Entrepreneurial Start-Up Company

This course prepares students to navigate the challenges of launching and scaling entrepreneurial ventures, with a focus on resource-limited environments, team dynamics, and agile decision-making. Through immersive, problem-based learning and real-world case studies, students gain the skills to manage uncertainty, adapt to evolving markets, and drive sustainable value creation.

Sustainable entrepreneurship questions to consider:

• What is the role of sustainability in managing a new venture?

• How can sustainability information impact investor funding decisions?

• What is the process a new venture can use to formulate and implement a sustainable strategy?

MGMT 453: Creativity and Innovation

Explores how creativity drives innovation within organizations, examining the influence of individual, team, and environmental factors. Emphasizes organizational design, leadership, and practices that foster sustainable innovation in dynamic markets.

Sustainable entrepreneurship questions to consider:

• Is innovation positive or negative for sustainability?

• Innovation has gone from creative destruction to destructive creation—is there a way to reverse the trend?

• What are the ethics of innovation when it comes to equality?

Explore More Sustainability-Focused Courses

Curious about how sustainability fits into your academic journey? Browse at Smeal and Penn State that highlight sustainability in business, society, and the environment.