Hello, if you have any need, please feel free to consult us, this is my wechat: wx91due
MANM451 DIGITAL ECONOMY PROJECT
Assessment 1 - Group Work
FIRST ASSIGNMENT
Group project: digital economy solution to tackle a real-world problem (pitching deck + website)
The group project work, which is the basis of both active learning and module assessment, is designed to give students the experience of working in an international and cross-cultural context. As teams, you are required to produce a digital portfolio (pitching deck + website) with an overview of the concept for a new application of a digital platform to tackle a real-world problem in lines with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
PART I: About the Assignment
The group project will consist of two elements: 1) pitching deck; 2) project Website.
1) The pitching Deck (presentation plus notes) (70%)
Using an entrepreneurial approach, you will develop a digital economy solution in the form of a presentation (a version of what is usually known as pitching deck) plus notes.
The objective of the pitching deck is to produce an analysis of a digital platform product or service that you want to build, its main value proposition, and the entrepreneurial processes that are necessary to bring it forward. In developing your ideas, you should structure your analysis using the tools and resources we present in the module, such as the problem identification, uses of suitable data, business models, data visualization tools, and ethics among others.
We will provide further details about what the pitching deck should look like and how you should work towards it. But in general terms, you should work during the course to produce a presentation (plus notes) containing no more than 10 slides explaining the following:
• Slide 1: Title: Title slide should include the name of the project, presentation of the idea, the team members, and the date.
• Slide 2 and 3: Problem Identification: Clearly define the real-world problem that the project aims to tackle; explain why is important, how it is related to the UN SDG. Tell the data story behind the problem.
• Slide 4: Your digital platform solution: describe the proposed digital economy solution and how it addresses the problem identified in slide 2; highlight the key benefits and features of the solution and explain why it is innovative and unique.
• Slide 5: Identifying the Sides of the Platform: identify the different sides of the platform and their roles in the solution; explain how the platform will facilitate interactions and transactions between these sides, and how it will create value for each side; what kind of network effects operate on the platform? How can you solve the chicken and egg problem?
• Slide 6: Your revenue model: Describe the business model for the solution, including how it will generate revenue and sustain itself in the long-term. Explain the pricing strategy, if applicable, and any partnerships or collaborations that will be necessary.
• Slide 7: Your competitors’ analysis: Identify the main competitors in the market and explain how the solution is different and/or better; highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors, and how the solution can leverage these to gain a competitive advantage.
• Slide 8: Your ethical considerations/data ethics model: Describe the ethical and privacy considerations that have been taken into account in the development of the solution. Explain how the solution will ensure the privacy and/or security of user data, and how it will adhere to relevant laws and regulations.
• Slide 9: Team and Expertise: Introduce the team members and their respective roles and expertise in the project.
• Slide 10: A call to action - Provide a clear and concise call to action for the audience, such as visiting the project website or signing up for the solution; you may explain the potential impact of the project and how the audience can be apart of the solution.
You may include an additional slide as appendix with any other key information (but not counted on your deck).
The purpose of the notes accompanying the presentation should be to include the analysis and details of the research undertaken in developing your analysis (templates you’ve used, full references to academic journals, key data and/or statistics, web sites consulted, professional journals, etc.). You should use the Harvard referencing system for this purpose.
Each group will make a 5-minute presentation of the draft deck (pitching style) to the class as assigned in the schedule. This will provide you with verbal feedback of your group progress and ideas for developing your individual assignment. You may also support your presentation with your project Website if useful. We will provide further details during the sessions. Note that presentations will not be marked but are compulsory. Failure to present will result in the deduction of 5 marks out of the final group mark.
The success of the group project (and your involvement in the module in general) will depend on a series of principles:
- You need to reach for facts outside your course content;
- Make sure you understand the basics of how digital platforms may help you solve a world problem;
- Use the problem identification template to articulate your main idea (problem and solution to tackle);
- We expect you to have iterations and “pivots” to your ideas, so a mind-set of hypotheses testing is the expectation;
- You will need to conduct rigorous research; we expect the use of relevant sources of data and references to be very important;
- An active participation by all team members is crucial – remember that in a professional setting you hardly chose who you work with! (But see more on the rules of marking that);
- Assign different roles and responsibilities amongst you based on your expertise/what you are best at – that way, you will work complementarily and more productively;
- Last, bring your sense of humour, have fun and collaborate with your peers in a unique opportunity to develop ideas that may be worth to commercialize.
Your deck (slide presentation plus notes) will be graded according to the following criteria (70 points):
- The knowledge and arguments you make, using core literature and concepts from the course (25 points);
- The application of concepts, independent study and analytical process (30), that demonstrate evidence of core concepts and readings from the course as well as independent sources;
- Deck flow, creativity and referencing (15 points).
2) The development of a project website (30%)
The course will also offer you the opportunity to develop your digital skills further. To support your pitching deck, you will be required to build a website for your group projects. Whether you have done it before or not, this is an opportunity to acquire a professional skill that you can add to your personal portfolio in the future.
The project website must have a minimum of 4 well designed sections:
1. Homepage
2. Product/service page;
3. Team
4. Contact us.
We will use the site Wix (https://www.wix.com/), with free content builder features. More details will be explained in the course.
Your Website and online presence will be graded according the following criteria (30 points):
- The generation of your own content;
- How well the website conveys the problem and digital platform solution you are developing in your pitching decks;
- That it contains, clearly, the key sections of the website (home, about/team page, product page, contact us page), and they are easy to find/navigate;
- The use of visuals and link to relevant content (images, data, graphs, interactive demonstrations); be aware of copyright issues with pictures; at least one data visualization (as we will cover in sessions 6 to 8).
- The overall creativity and presentation.
PART II: On the Group formation
Group size: 3 to 4 students per team – this is an ideal number! but speak to class teacher if you got good justifications.
Important! Group allocation: Self-allocation on SL, with these rules:
- groups must be diverse (believe me, big advantages for ideation demonstrated by colleagues working on this!); simple rule is: no same gender groups allowed.
- each group must have at least one member from February intake (when possible/relevant);
Group marking rules regarding member’s contributions
The group project will be marked assuming that all team members have contributed equally to the work, with each member receiving 100% of the achieved mark.
If there is a member in the group who has not contributed equally, the group must raise the issue with the module leader by the end of session 5 (first week of teaching) at the latest. The group should discuss their situation and reach an agreement on the percentage of contribution to be assigned to the member/s who have not contributed equally. The agreement should be documented on a form available on Surrey Learn, which must be signed by all group members and the group tutor. The completed form should then be emailed to the module leader BEFORE submission to Dr. Carla Bonina ([email protected]). If the group fails to raise any problem by session 5, or there is no uneven contribution form submitted before the group assignment submission, all members will receive an equal percentage of contribution.
There is no need to attach the uneven contribution form if all members have contributed equally.