An 18-Week Studio Course
A fully English-taught, hands-on studio course in NKUHT's International Tourism Management program. 18 weeks, 3 credits: students start from campus life and the hospitality/tourism industry, use Design Thinking to uncover real pain points, build out a Business Model Canvas, and finish with a pitch-ready Business Plan defended in front of judges at Demo Day.
3 in-class hours per week, plus a recommended 6 hours of pre/post-class work (customer interviews, survey design and execution, BMC/BP development, pitch rehearsal) to achieve the four objectives below.
Accurately identify and define real customer pain points in a campus or hospitality/tourism context using Design Thinking methods.
Independently design and validate a complete Business Model Canvas covering customer, channel, cost, and revenue structures.
Effectively conduct primary market research, collecting and analyzing at least 30 data points to validate business assumptions.
Clearly present and defend a financially viable business plan to a panel, responding to questions under pressure.
The course runs in four connected phases: first building an entrepreneurial mindset and empathy, then converging on a business model, then prototyping and running the numbers, and finally pulling it all together into a business plan and a live pitch.
Week 1–5 · Build an entrepreneurial mindset and use Design Thinking to uncover real pain points on campus and in the hospitality/tourism market.
Week 6–9 · Turn the idea into a business model with the Business Model Canvas, and validate demand through market research.
Week 10–13 · Build a prototype, plan a marketing channel, and estimate costs, revenue, and the break-even point.
Week 14–18 · Write a formal business plan, polish the pitch, and take on the Final Demo Day.
3 hours per week, pairing theory with hands-on activities. Week 9 is the midterm milestone; Weeks 17–18 are the final assessment.
Focus: building an entrepreneurial mindset, learning Design Thinking methods, and finding real pain points on campus and in the hospitality/tourism market.
Course roadmap and grading, defining entrepreneurship in the hospitality/tourism industry.
Activity — The Paperclip Challenge: teams trade a paperclip for something more valuable on campus to experience "value creation."
Finding pain points in campus activities or local tourism.
Activity — Campus Observation Safari: interview classmates to find inefficiencies in campus activities and processes.
Divergent vs. convergent thinking; turning complaints into business opportunities.
Activity — Crazy Eights: sketch 8 distinct product/service ideas in 8 minutes.
Who is your customer? Filling out the Value Proposition Canvas.
Activity — Draft 2 contrasting customer personas (e.g., an exchange student vs. a commuter student).
Team dynamics, roles (CEO/CFO/CMO/CTO), finalizing the project direction.
Activity — Idea Marketplace: students pitch their ideas to recruit teammates and sign a Co-founder Agreement.
Focus: turning the idea into a business model and validating it in the market with real data.
Infrastructure & offering: Key Partners, Key Activities, Key Resources, Value Propositions.
Activity — Case study of a well-known tourism startup's early business model (e.g., KKday/Klook).
Customers & finances: Customer Relationships, Channels, Cost Structure, Revenue Streams.
Activity — Complete the team's first full one-page BMC.
Primary vs. secondary research; designing a Google Form survey and analyzing local competitors.
Activity — Teams design an online survey to validate demand for their product on campus (target: at least 30 responses).
Presenting a validated problem, a validated solution, and a draft BMC.
Activity — Peer-Review Panel: 5-minute team presentations with feedback from both instructor and classmates.
Focus: building a prototype and estimating startup costs and revenue to assess financial feasibility.
Building to learn; low-fidelity vs. high-fidelity prototypes.
Activity — UI/UX or physical mockup studio: build a landing page, a digital wireframe (Figma/Canva), or a physical prototype mockup.
Applying the marketing 4Ps to a startup launch; digital marketing basics.
Activity — Outline a 4-week launch campaign using Instagram/LINE marketing strategies.
Fixed vs. variable costs; cost-plus pricing vs. value-based pricing.
Activity — Calculate the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and set a unit price.
Sales forecasting and calculating the Break-Even Point (BEP).
Activity — Fill out a simplified spreadsheet to calculate monthly burn rate and runway.
Focus: pulling everything together into a business plan, sharpening pitch skills, and taking on Demo Day.
Structuring the written report: executive summary, operational plan, risk management.
Activity — Document workshop: teams draft and format each section of the BP.
The 10-slide pitch structure: Hook, Problem, Solution, Market, Product, Business Model, Competition, Marketing, Financials, Team.
Activity — Analyze successful pitch videos from Techstars/Y Combinator.
Visual presentation principles (less text, more data graphics); anticipating tough investor questions.
Activity — Pitch Speed Dating: 3-minute practice pitch to another team, followed by 2 minutes of feedback.
Showcasing the final product, business model, and financial projections.
Activity — NKUHT ITM Shark Tank: 5-minute presentation + 4-minute Q&A per team (industry/incubator judges optional).
Individual self-assessment and peer evaluation, and reflecting on takeaways for future career applications.
Activity — Teams submit a final revised Business Plan PDF and complete a 360-degree peer evaluation.
Assessment runs across the whole semester, weighting both the process and the final deliverables.
Final Demo Day Pitch (Week 17 presentation)
Midterm Progress Report (Week 9 presentation)
Written Business Plan (Week 18 PDF submission)
Weekly workshop deliverables & worksheets (individual/group)
Attendance & peer evaluation (360-degree feedback)