Abstract:

The business model CANVAS template was proposed by Osterwalder & Pigneur to help businesses to describe, design, and analyse their business models, covering the areas of clients, valuable properties, infrastructure, and economic feasibility. With this spirit, the present approach consisted of applying a modified CANVAS template within the framework of the subject “Draft and Execution of Projects” of the degree in “Chemistry”, where students’ teams are trained to prepare a draft for a chemical plant project (or food-oriented plant). The idea was to apply the modified CANVAS template like a map to serve as a student’s guide to describe and analyse business ideas in a simple, practical and collaborative way and promote entrepreneurial skills. In this sense, the promotion of entrepreneurial skills within students is desired to thrive in a complex world. The template was divided into 12 blocks: Customer segment, customer relationship, value proposition, channels, key activities, key resources, key partners, cost structure, revenue stream, feasibility, innovation grade, and impact in the region. The nine first blocks belong to the original Osterwalder & Pigneur’s CANVAS template, while the last two blocks enable the students to indicate innovative aspects and how their plants may impact the environmental and socioeconomic media in the location. The module feasibility helps describe the overall results obtained, where the student can also indicate weaknesses and opportunities. As a result, six works were presented about paracetamol, ABS plastic, formic acid, bleach, oleic acid, and lactose-free milk plants, along with their respective CANVAS models. After completing the subject and the discussion of the CANVAS models, the students were consulted about their progress concerning the competence “Initiative and entrepreneurial spirit”. More than 80% of the students found an enhancement in their skills, with punctuations of 4 and 5 on a linear scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent). Therefore, the CANVAS template was applied as a Visual Thinking tool to summarize technical, financial, socio-economic, and innovative aspects of the student’s work and overall promote entrepreneurial spirit.

Keywords:

Innovation, projects, CANVAS, entrepreneurial skills.