SO/IB 351 - Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation in Europe

Social entrepreneurship is one of the most high-impact and sustainable innovations for solving society’s most difficult challenges in Europe and across the globe.  Social Entrepreneurs have won Nobel Peace Prizes, radicalised health care systems, brought endless citizens out of hopeless situations of poverty, and led change to reduce corruption, crime and racism.  Social innovators that support the movement have found endless ways to create positive change in almost every sector imaginable.  Social innovation and social entrepreneurship in the EU is as diverse and rich as the Member States themselves.

This course will provide you with an entrepreneurial, business and social understanding of the phenomena of social innovation and social entrepreneurship.  Your ability to view and understand solutions for solving society’s challenges with an analytical and entrepreneurial approach will be developed.  Whether you plan to work in politics and policy, business, finance, education, social service, development, health, peace or any other field, social innovation and social entrepreneurship are relevant to your future.  During this semester we will seek to understand the many facets of social innovation, the movement of social entrepreneurship and its development and practice within Europe.  What will you learn is certain to inspire and may also spark the changemaker within.