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Business Online Courses

This selection of online courses is specially designed for students studying in schools or colleges who are interested in studying a business subject at university. These courses from the Leeds University Business School aim to extend the students' knowledge in a range of relevant subjects that will extend the work they are completing at school.

These online courses are part of the Futurelearn’s Schools Initiative - a new initiative that gives millions of UK students aged 13+ free upgraded access to over a hundred relevant short courses on their platform.

Starting a Business 1: Vision and Opportunity

This online course will help your students understand how to define a business vision and discover opportunities to make it happen. The course will introduce them to the entrepreneurial learning cycle and how to write a robust business plan.

Starting a Business 2: People and Networks

On this online course, your students will discover how working with people and exploring networks can help take businesses to the next level. It will help them to recognise the people who can help take business ideas forward in both formal and informal business networks.

Starting a Business 3: Customers and Competitors

This online course will develop students' understanding of how targeting markets can help business ideas stand out from the crowd. They will learn the theory of understanding markets and how to analyse them to find the market size and growth potential.

Starting a Business 4: Business Processes

On this online course, students will discover how business practices work,  how performance can be improved so that business ideas can move forward and how to manage growth. They will then investigate the information and systems required to track business processes.

Starting a Business 5: Managing Finances

This online course introduces students to forecasting and managing finances and how this can lead to a more profitable business. They will explore how financial information provides evidence to support decisions about businesses and how it helps to justify those decisions.

Starting a Business 6: Funding Your Business

This online course introduces students to the importance of raising funds when starting a business. They will learn which source of funding is the most suitable for different business ideas, from informal funding methods such as personal savings to more formal avenues like bank loans.