12 Jul 2024
The ViA Ventures in Action teaching module, set up by HEG-FR as part of the Master of Science in Business Administration program, marks its tenth anniversary with the award of the ICSB prize for the best Master's program in Entrepreneurship at the ICSB 2024 congress in Berlin.
ViA Ventures in Action, the highly practical teaching module of the MSc, BA Entrepreneurship Orientation, wins the ICSB award for the best Master's program in entrepreneurship.
The award ceremony took place at the ICSB World Congress in Berlin, Germany. The ViA module, which was submitted to the competition and presented in a video conference by Raphaël Gaudart, Head of the Master's Program at HEG-FR, won over the jurors.
Ten years of hands-on learning
This program, which enables students to immerse themselves fully in entrepreneurship by setting up their own business from scratch, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. It was set up by Sébastien Jeanneret, an entrepreneur, lecturer at the HEG-FR, and current ViA module manager, and supported by Rico Baldegger. The ViA module was designed to enrich the theoretical aspects of teaching by bringing them face to face with practice.
Students are supported in their projects by coaches from various fields, who themselves are entrepreneurs. This increases their chances of success without limiting their potential, since the companies created as part of the project belong entirely to them.
With an initial investment, kindly provided by the Banque cantonale de Fribourg, students are able to work on a product or service they have come up with themselves. From the initial concept, to the development of the business plan and the final launch of the product or service on the market, the students' aim is to generate maximum profit. Therefore, the success of the course also depends on Swiss market conditions and consumer appeal.
Some examples of ViA projects over the years