So­cial In­nov­a­tion and Entrepreneur­ship

Course content

Social entrepreneurship has acquired the proportions of a world-wide movement. From micro-finance institutions to youth houses, fair trade shops and community-based art collectives, a wide range of initiatives are focusing their efforts on addressing the big social challenges in today’s world. There is however no agreement on the definition nor on the nature of the phenomenon that is being called “social entrepreneurship”. Yet, this variety of initiatives seem to have one thing in common: the willingness to achieve social change. The core of this course is social change through the parallel notion of social innovation. In other words, we will critically look at innovation and entrepreneurship as particular forms of organising for social transformations.

Some of the questions that we will explore throughout the course are:

How should we think when designing initiatives aiming at social change? What conceptual and practical tools can be used in our strive to improve the lives of people and the health of our communities? How can the social be re-articulated in our efforts to catalyse social change? How can we assess the effectiveness of these initiatives?

In sum, in this course we will be looking at rationalities, strategies and tools aiming at fostering environmental and social sustainability. For that purpose, we will be using the intellectual tools handed to us by the social sciences to both understand the phenomena of social innovation and entrepreneurship and apply them to the design of social entrepreneurial ventures.

This course is project based: It will be centered on a social innovation project that students co-create. First, because the most effective way to understand social innovation and entrepreneurship is to practice it. Second, because the course aims to promote a creative and proactive stance toward the society you live in, not merely an adaptive or critical one.

Since the notion of "social change" is quite general, each year the course develops around specific societal challenges. This year we are working with two challenges. The first chosen challenge is the need to combine environmental sustainability with social sustainability. In fact, sustainability is often understood as the need to preserve natural ecosystems and reduce our impact on the environment. This, however, is only one part of the story: sustainability is a multidimensional concept and it entails the need to develop socio-economic practices that are just and fair in respect not only towards the environment, but also towards the human communities involved and affected by these socio-economic practices.The second challenge is current Covid-19 pandemic. We see the consequences of this global pandemic unfolding in manifold ways, creating social and economic challenges for many. While we might not be able to foresee all long-term consequences, it is important that we start addressing the arising problems at concrete points with innovative solutions. 

This course appeals to students with a strong desire to become social innovators, work in a social startup, or in a social entrepreneurial minded company now or later in their careers. It is also for those students who are considering obtaining jobs in international institutions, sustainability management, social venture capital, starting a cooperative or a non-profit organization/association. 

Finally, this course takes an experiential approach and students are expected to interact with the social change sector, participate in class discussion, and be active participants in the teaching/learning process. Topics will include exploring the problem you want to address, assessing the opportunity, acknowledging the implicit theory of change, considering the project's organisational form and pitching your initiative.