Courses

What is the potential of social entrepreneurship in the changing world of higher education and how can faculty design and teach the most effective courses, curricula and programs? As the Founding Ashoka U Faculty in Residence, Impact Economy’s Dr. Maximilian Martin co-led an Ashoka U Faculty Institute on best practices in social entrepreneurship education at Rollins College, Florida together with Marina Kim, Director of Ashoka U. The Faculty Institute, which was hosted by the Rollins Social Entrepreneurship & Sustainability Initiative (SESi) and is a cross-campus initiative helping students channel their passion for social change in solution-orientated action, gathered 45 faculty to explore how to best integrate social entrepreneurship into the curricula of different disciplines and how to shape the overall social entrepreneurship offering at Rollins College.

Since starting the first social entrepreneurship course at the University of Gallen, Switzerland, in 2004, Impact Economy’s Dr. Maximilian Martin has returned every year to teach a course that is now titled ‘Social Investment and Entrepreneurship’. Catering to a select group of Masters students from a variety of academic backgrounds, in 2012 the course focused on innovative financing methods, social impact measurement, and exploring how the social entrepreneurship field is developing frameworks as it grows.

In his role as Founding Ashoka U Faculty in Residence, Dr. Maximilian Martin co-led Asia’s first Ashoka U Faculty Institute on best practices in social entrepreneurship education at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, together with Marina Kim, Director of Ashoka U. The goal of the Faculty Institute was to enable university professors from KAIST and Korea to access best practices in social entrepreneurship education and curriculum and program design, and conduct private strategy sessions on the new program and center.

At the launch of Ashoka U’s first Changemaker Campus outside of the US at the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Guadalajara, Mexico, Dr Maximilian Martin joined Ashoka U Director Marina Kim to deliver an Ashoka U Faculty Institute on how to teach social entrepreneurship. In his role as Ashoka U Faculty In Residence, Dr Maximilian Martin taught three days of sessions on ‘Using Social Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship as Tools for Impactful Teaching and Engaged Learning’. The goal was to embed social innovation and social entrepreneurship at all levels of the university among faculty, students and administrators, so as to optimally enable the next generation of change leaders in Mexico.

For the eighth consecutive year, from Nov. 2-5 Dr. Martin held his intensive 4-day course on Social Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Gallen. Once more, students had a chance to learn about the role that social entrepreneurs can increasingly play, and are indeed already playing, in solving our world’s challenges. From the big names in the field - Bill Drayton, Mohammed Yunus, Dr. V – who set the foundations of this category of individuals, to the lesser known stories that don’t always make the headlines, Dr. Martin took his students along a journey into social and environmental entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurship is an important driver of global change. There is a sense that it might be the key ingredient to a new social contract for the 21st century. Though referred to extensively as a concept, there is no single definition of the subject. This course asks pragmatically what we can do make sure social entrepreneurship delivers on our implicit expectations.

Based on the premise that we are entering a sustainability age, this course examines the emerging field of social investment, and inquires into the role of entrepreneurship in its constitution and expansion. It analyzes social business and investing, including the emerging concept of "impact investing" - defined as investments that generate social and environmental value as well as financial return, and are not restricted to investments in publicly listed companies.

Based on the premise that we are entering a sustainability age, this course examines the emerging field of social investment, and inquires into the role of entrepreneurship in its constitution and expansion. It analyzes social business and investing, including the emerging concept of "impact investing" - defined as investments that generate social and environmental value as well as financial return, and are not restricted to investments in publicly listed companies.

Maximilian Martin
Date: September 2008

Abstract:     

This course takes a strategic perspective on social change. It asks how emerging leaders - social entrepreneurs and strategic philanthropists - can stimulate systemic change through local interventions and collaboration. The course was developed and taught by Maximilian Martin in the IOMBA program for the 2008 fall semester.