From September to December 2022, Tallinn University’s Ulrike Rohn (professor of media management and economics and head of the ScreenME project) piloted a course on creative entrepreneurship that she had co-developed with ScreenME partners Thomas Cyron (Jönköping International Business School, Sweden), Britta Gossel (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Germany) and Niall O’Leary (Munster Technological University, Republic of Ireland).

The English-language course attracted Estonian and international students enrolled in various MA study programmes at Tallinn University’s Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (BFM). In total, 14 students completed the course.

The aim of the course was to develop in the students a fundamental understanding of entrepreneurship. Students were assisted in crafting and understanding their own “entrepreneurial self”. They learned about entrepreneurial methods and various external enablers in the media and creative industries. Through practical experimentation and a critical reflection of the entrepreneurial process in the creative and media industries, the students were able to prepare and deliver pitches of their own business ideas, following the NABC (need, approach, benefits, competition) approach.

The students were split into three groups and tasked with developing an idea for a support program to help those who need help to settle in Estonia, a service that would offer training content for the elderly to learn how to use smartphones, and an application that would help connect Estonian learners and Estonian teachers. Thomas Cyron and Britta Gossel who travelled to Tallinn to hear and provide feedback to the student pitches were impressed, both by the business ideas as well as the quality of the presentations.

In summary, the course was well-received and very enjoyable both for the students and teachers.