Becoming a Social Entrepreneur

“We prepare our students for jobs and careers, but we don’t teach them to think

as individuals about what kind of world they would create.” – Mohammad Yunus,

Social entrepreneur, economist, civil society leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Overview

This global online course provides the opportunity to learn about the role of a social entrepreneur in leading initiatives that create local impact, from idea to implementation. The course is delivered within one month where participants attend sessions online twice a week.  Eight one-hour sessions offer inspirations and insights on creativity, design thinking, and entrepreneurship training for social innovation. Participants have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field of social innovation while working on team-based projects and the creation of a social entrepreneurship initiative.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the role of social entrepreneurship in creating change and impact for local communities.

  • Identify the causes, needs, and opportunities in addressing community challenges.

  • Develop creative thinking skills to design and develop new concepts.

  • Collaborate effectively in teams in developing a social innovation project.

Pedagogical Methods

This online course will be co-taught by several instructors to provide specific expertise for the topic sessions. It will include synchronous learning with remote work for individual and team projects. There will be a variety of online teaching methods to ensure an interactive learning experience, including discussions, exercises, and challenges involving creativity, design thinking, problem-solving, story-telling, interviewing, and presentations. You’re expected to optimize your online learning experience through active participation and team collaboration.    

Final Project 

In addition to active participation, readings, and exercises, you will be asked to prepare an individual project and a team project. Participants who complete requirements for online attendance and successful projects have the opportunity to earn a Course Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from MICollaboratory.

  • The individual project involves the development of a proposal where you have identified a local community challenge that you would like to solve for creating impact within your local community.