Unlocking global business: foundations for the future

Fixed semester programme, consisting of 2 study blocks

UoL1: Getting familiar with business disciplines (15 ECTS)
Fundamentals of Financial Management
Understanding Markets and Customer Needs
Fundamentals of Logistics
International Strategic Management
Research Skills
Communication & Collaboration Skills
Digital Literacy & Media Competence
Case Study: Café Fresh – A Local Business Start-Up in Venlo

This unit introduces students to the core purpose of businesses and the roles of the following disciplines in daily operations:

• Finance & Control
• International Business
• Logistics
• Marketing Management

Students will identify and describe how these areas work together to support decision-making and business success. Using an authentic case study, students will analyse and apply key business concepts to solve practical challenges, such as make-or-buy decisions and pricing strategies.

They will also recognise and explain how different business functions are connected and influence company decisions. Students will utilise research methods and digital tools, such as Excel and PowerPoint, to collect, structure, and present business insights in a professional manner.

Additionally, students will communicate and collaborate effectively in a hybrid learning environment, developing skills in teamwork and intercultural communication.

This unit helps students develop a comprehensive understanding of business operations while acquiring essential skills for making informed business decision.

UoL2: Starting a Business (15 ECTS)
Finance & Cost Accounting
Market Research & Sales Strategy
Setting up Logistics
Global Entrepreneurship
Research Skills
Communication & Collaboration
Digital Literacy & Media Competence
Project: Start up your own Business

From understanding core business disciplines to becoming an entrepreneur. This unit marks the beginning of the entrepreneurial lifecycle for students. After exploring core business disciplines in Study Block I (Getting Familiar with Business Disciplines), students now take their first real step into entrepreneurship—not as observers, but as business founders.

In the project, student teams take the first step of developing their own company. The focus of UoL II is on the early-stage formation of a company: identifying business opportunities, analysing customer needs, designing a product or service, validating it through real-world feedback and building a financial and strategic foundation.

Students will turn initial ideas into validated business concepts. They will develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), conduct market and competitor analyses, define target customers, and construct their business model using tools such as the Business Model Canvas, Design Thinking, and Lean Startup principles.A defining feature of this unit is the integration of sustainability and social responsibility into each business model.

The final moment of UoL II is an Investor Pitch in the framework of a shareholder meeting: a professional pitch and presentation of each business idea, including financials, customer insights and sustainability strategy, delivered to a panel of internal and external experts.

By the end of this unit, students will have transformed a raw idea into a validated, purpose-driven business concept, ready for real-world implementation—equipped with a working prototype, a defined customer base and the confidence to lead their startup forward.