Description
In such a description account whats next in social entrepreneurship education.
Issue No.24 August 16, 2014
What’s Next in Social Entrepreneurship Education
by Melissa Carrier, Assistant Dean at the Robert H. Smith School of Business,
University of Maryland
Imagine this:
A public health student walks into a 700-square-foot room to build a 3-D prototype for her
idea to reduce infant mortality rates in developing countries. In the room, she encounters students in mechanical
engineering, international development, and business, all eager to help her with different parts of her idea.
This is a place where university students…
? build their own space for launching creative ideas
? Create their own majors to innovate around issues that they care about deeply
? Mentor one another before seeking the advice of experienced professionals and faculty.
The future is already here. Called Startup Shell, the student-led initiative at the University of Maryland started as a
co-working space for a small group of students who wanted to tinker with both tools and ideas. It has grown from a
‘technology collective’ to embody a student-led campus-wide movement to think critically about the status quo and
inspire students to ‘think, build, and play’ outside of the classroom. The power of Startup Shell is its authenticity,
shared ownership model, and meaningful impact on students.
On-Campus Momentum
As the Assistant Dean at the Robert H Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, I have witnessed
first-hand the transformation of education delivery in my campus. Experiential learning, pedagogy once relegated to
internships nd extra-curricular programs only, is now considered an essential part of a student’s academic undertaking.
Our General Education curriculum was redesigned to speak to important contemporary issues that spark the
imagination, demand intellect, and inspire innovation. We challenge students to wrestle with big questions and
examine these issues through the lenses of different disciplines and frameworks that require analytical thinking and
creative problem solving. Our Scholarship in Practice courses give students the opportunity to learn about a field of
study and demonstrate the associated skills such as applying the science of persuasion to create real public service
campaigns for causes of their choice.
Issue No.19 January 22, 2014
Concurrently, our campus is abounding with entrepreneurship, innovation, and social value creation. Under the
leadership of President Wallace Loh and Provost Mary Ann Rankin, we have embarked on a strategic imperative call
Fearless Ideas to invest resources to accelerate research, development, and launch of innovations developed by our
faculty, staff, and students. Students are enrolling in the Social Innovation Fellows program, participating in the
Global Sustainability Jam, creating new ventures for the Do Good Challenge, and winning Net Impact’s
Undergraduate Chapter of the Year. (Net Impact is the largest international organization nurturing young
changemakers).
Four key areas over the next five years
In order to chart a successful course and manage extraordinary growth, we need to focus on four key areas
over the next five years.
1. Meaning & Definition: What exactly is social entrepreneurship?
Many academic papers have been written about the definition of social entrepreneurship and social
innovation, but a lack of consensus remains. The field is young relative to other fields of study, and we
should acknowledge this reality. However, unnecessary fence-sitting makes the work of campus change
leaders particularly challenging. The ‘you know it when you see it’ definition of social entrepreneurship has
allowed us to create an inclusive environment on our campuses where anyone interested in ‘changemaking’
can adopt the movement for their own. This has served the movement very well in the short term, but it is
not what will move us on.
As we look ahead, our refusal to coalesce around a meaning will ultimately dilute the value of social
entrepreneurship overall – for educators, for students, for universities, and for society. We may not agree on
a single definition, but I do believe we can engage in a comparative review and get clear on standards of
excellence for social innovation education. Our movement would be well served by acknowledging the
common ground shared with fields of study like leadership, service learning, and entrepreneurship, and also
by acknowledging what is different. There are overlaps, indeed, but there is undoubtedly something distinct
about the dual mission of social entrepreneurship, i.e. financial sustainability and social impact.
2. Vision for the End Game: What are we working towards and how will we know if we get there?
A 21
st
-century model of higher education should train students to solve complex problems, and it should
include rigor and erudition. An intentional framework for educators and universities just joining the
conversation should be developed, as well as for those who have been involved for years and wan to stay at
the cutting edge. We need to ensure specific and measureable learning outcomes can be articulated, and we
need to define the collection of competencies required for social entrepreneurship as a matter of practice.
Too often, we convince ourselves that action is progress. There is a proverb that says, ‘When your journey
has no destination, any road will take you there.’ Our vision for the future must be ambitious, reasoned, and
concise.
3. J ob Creation Implications: Will entrepreneurship save our economy?
Pick up the newspaper, and you are sure to read about the lack of jobs and the ripple effects on many of the
world’s economies. The United States is suffering under a ‘jobless recovery’ that has the potential to
fundamentally change the contract between business and civil society. Today, over 50% of the world’s
population is under 30. In our governments we are creating policies to encourage entrepreneurship and small
business growth. In our communities, we are purchasing local products and services. At our universities we
are beginning to recognize that we must teach students to become job makers instead of job takers as the
way to a brighter financial future. These shifting labor trends are a potent force around the world.
I believe this is our call to action. Through social entrepreneurship education we will shape a generation of
leaders with the confidence and skills to build new organizations that not only create jobs, but create
opportunities rooted in community, embedded with sustainability values, and able to produce financial
viability for individuals society over the long run. In every sector we have the opportunity to make this the
DNA of all organizations – by creating new ventures and influencing existing organizations from within….I
say we take on this challenge and help students be the creators of jobs that provide sustainable value for
themselves and for the world around them.
4. Fearless Leadership: Are we ready to ask more of ourselves, our students, and our institutions?
I believe that many change leaders are ready to engage in disruptive conversations. Whether in the sunlight
or behind the scenes, we need to push ourselves, our channels, and our networks to talk about the next wave
of leadership required to transform the world around us. We must deliver on providing the frameworks to
invoke real change by assessing the root cause of the challenges we face. We need to be willing to intercept
the well-intentioned efforts of our colleagues that simply re-package existing programs under the name of
social innovation. We need to capture students where they are and give them the curriculum, connections,
and experience to go to the next level. We need to embrace tough questions and be ready to execute for long
term value creation.
Are we prepared to embark on sustainable changmaking as a requirement of our field? I am. And I invite
you to join me.
Excerpted from the closing chapter of Trends in Social Innovation Education 2014, published by Ashoka U.
Melissa Carrier joined the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland after a
decade of management experience with technology companies ranging from Fortune 500 to
early stage start-ups. During her tenure at the Dingman Centre for Entrepreneurship, she grew
the Capital Access Network angel investor program into a leading regional investor group.
Melissa teaches social entrepreneurship and sustainable systems to MBA and undergraduate
students, and is the faculty champion for the Social Innovation Fellows program.. Melissa
received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Ohio State University and an MBA from
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
doc_524199118.pdf
In such a description account whats next in social entrepreneurship education.
Issue No.24 August 16, 2014
What’s Next in Social Entrepreneurship Education
by Melissa Carrier, Assistant Dean at the Robert H. Smith School of Business,
University of Maryland
Imagine this:
A public health student walks into a 700-square-foot room to build a 3-D prototype for her
idea to reduce infant mortality rates in developing countries. In the room, she encounters students in mechanical
engineering, international development, and business, all eager to help her with different parts of her idea.
This is a place where university students…
? build their own space for launching creative ideas
? Create their own majors to innovate around issues that they care about deeply
? Mentor one another before seeking the advice of experienced professionals and faculty.
The future is already here. Called Startup Shell, the student-led initiative at the University of Maryland started as a
co-working space for a small group of students who wanted to tinker with both tools and ideas. It has grown from a
‘technology collective’ to embody a student-led campus-wide movement to think critically about the status quo and
inspire students to ‘think, build, and play’ outside of the classroom. The power of Startup Shell is its authenticity,
shared ownership model, and meaningful impact on students.
On-Campus Momentum
As the Assistant Dean at the Robert H Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, I have witnessed
first-hand the transformation of education delivery in my campus. Experiential learning, pedagogy once relegated to
internships nd extra-curricular programs only, is now considered an essential part of a student’s academic undertaking.
Our General Education curriculum was redesigned to speak to important contemporary issues that spark the
imagination, demand intellect, and inspire innovation. We challenge students to wrestle with big questions and
examine these issues through the lenses of different disciplines and frameworks that require analytical thinking and
creative problem solving. Our Scholarship in Practice courses give students the opportunity to learn about a field of
study and demonstrate the associated skills such as applying the science of persuasion to create real public service
campaigns for causes of their choice.
Issue No.19 January 22, 2014
Concurrently, our campus is abounding with entrepreneurship, innovation, and social value creation. Under the
leadership of President Wallace Loh and Provost Mary Ann Rankin, we have embarked on a strategic imperative call
Fearless Ideas to invest resources to accelerate research, development, and launch of innovations developed by our
faculty, staff, and students. Students are enrolling in the Social Innovation Fellows program, participating in the
Global Sustainability Jam, creating new ventures for the Do Good Challenge, and winning Net Impact’s
Undergraduate Chapter of the Year. (Net Impact is the largest international organization nurturing young
changemakers).
Four key areas over the next five years
In order to chart a successful course and manage extraordinary growth, we need to focus on four key areas
over the next five years.
1. Meaning & Definition: What exactly is social entrepreneurship?
Many academic papers have been written about the definition of social entrepreneurship and social
innovation, but a lack of consensus remains. The field is young relative to other fields of study, and we
should acknowledge this reality. However, unnecessary fence-sitting makes the work of campus change
leaders particularly challenging. The ‘you know it when you see it’ definition of social entrepreneurship has
allowed us to create an inclusive environment on our campuses where anyone interested in ‘changemaking’
can adopt the movement for their own. This has served the movement very well in the short term, but it is
not what will move us on.
As we look ahead, our refusal to coalesce around a meaning will ultimately dilute the value of social
entrepreneurship overall – for educators, for students, for universities, and for society. We may not agree on
a single definition, but I do believe we can engage in a comparative review and get clear on standards of
excellence for social innovation education. Our movement would be well served by acknowledging the
common ground shared with fields of study like leadership, service learning, and entrepreneurship, and also
by acknowledging what is different. There are overlaps, indeed, but there is undoubtedly something distinct
about the dual mission of social entrepreneurship, i.e. financial sustainability and social impact.
2. Vision for the End Game: What are we working towards and how will we know if we get there?
A 21
st
-century model of higher education should train students to solve complex problems, and it should
include rigor and erudition. An intentional framework for educators and universities just joining the
conversation should be developed, as well as for those who have been involved for years and wan to stay at
the cutting edge. We need to ensure specific and measureable learning outcomes can be articulated, and we
need to define the collection of competencies required for social entrepreneurship as a matter of practice.
Too often, we convince ourselves that action is progress. There is a proverb that says, ‘When your journey
has no destination, any road will take you there.’ Our vision for the future must be ambitious, reasoned, and
concise.
3. J ob Creation Implications: Will entrepreneurship save our economy?
Pick up the newspaper, and you are sure to read about the lack of jobs and the ripple effects on many of the
world’s economies. The United States is suffering under a ‘jobless recovery’ that has the potential to
fundamentally change the contract between business and civil society. Today, over 50% of the world’s
population is under 30. In our governments we are creating policies to encourage entrepreneurship and small
business growth. In our communities, we are purchasing local products and services. At our universities we
are beginning to recognize that we must teach students to become job makers instead of job takers as the
way to a brighter financial future. These shifting labor trends are a potent force around the world.
I believe this is our call to action. Through social entrepreneurship education we will shape a generation of
leaders with the confidence and skills to build new organizations that not only create jobs, but create
opportunities rooted in community, embedded with sustainability values, and able to produce financial
viability for individuals society over the long run. In every sector we have the opportunity to make this the
DNA of all organizations – by creating new ventures and influencing existing organizations from within….I
say we take on this challenge and help students be the creators of jobs that provide sustainable value for
themselves and for the world around them.
4. Fearless Leadership: Are we ready to ask more of ourselves, our students, and our institutions?
I believe that many change leaders are ready to engage in disruptive conversations. Whether in the sunlight
or behind the scenes, we need to push ourselves, our channels, and our networks to talk about the next wave
of leadership required to transform the world around us. We must deliver on providing the frameworks to
invoke real change by assessing the root cause of the challenges we face. We need to be willing to intercept
the well-intentioned efforts of our colleagues that simply re-package existing programs under the name of
social innovation. We need to capture students where they are and give them the curriculum, connections,
and experience to go to the next level. We need to embrace tough questions and be ready to execute for long
term value creation.
Are we prepared to embark on sustainable changmaking as a requirement of our field? I am. And I invite
you to join me.
Excerpted from the closing chapter of Trends in Social Innovation Education 2014, published by Ashoka U.
Melissa Carrier joined the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland after a
decade of management experience with technology companies ranging from Fortune 500 to
early stage start-ups. During her tenure at the Dingman Centre for Entrepreneurship, she grew
the Capital Access Network angel investor program into a leading regional investor group.
Melissa teaches social entrepreneurship and sustainable systems to MBA and undergraduate
students, and is the faculty champion for the Social Innovation Fellows program.. Melissa
received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Ohio State University and an MBA from
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
doc_524199118.pdf