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MARINA KIM Founder, Executive Director, Ashoka U – On Social Entrepreneurship Ashoka is an international network of social entrepreneurs. Since its founding in 1980, its mission has been to promote social change and create a supportive environment for social entrepreneurs to work in. One of its programs is Ashoka U, which works to make colleges and universities places where students are given the tools and support to pursue careers in social entrepreneurship.
Business Today: How were you involved with social entrepreneurship in college and how does that shape what you do now?
concepts, courses, and possibilities of social entrepreneurship at the university.
The more role models campuses can proMarina Kim: I was fortunate to find out vide, the better. More examples of social about social entrepreneurship during my entrepreneurs coming from all backgrounds, very first week of college. I took every class working across lots of different industries in social entrepreneurship at Stanford. I will inspire students and spark involvement. brought this academic background into my At Ashoka U, our Social Entrepreneur in extra-curricular activities and became a stu- Residence program brings a social entrepredent leader at Stanford, becoming friends neur to campus to do just this. with fellow student leaders and professors. It was a transformative experience for me! In sum, there are a variety of ways colleges and universities can guide students to beI now lead Ashoka’s initiative, Ashoka U, to come agents of change on their campus. A partner with student and faculty leaders at consortium of twelve institutions, the Ashocolleges and universities around the world ka Changemaker Campuses, are at the foreto launch and grow their social entrepre- front of this new movement in the emerging neurship programs. field of social entrepreneurship education.
BT: What can colleges and universities do to engage students in social entrepreneurship? MK: From the moment students step on campus, colleges and universities can equip their students with the skills, information, and resources that they need to engage in social entrepreneurship. At freshman orientation, students can learn about relevant social entrepreneurship student activities that they can get involved with, find out which classes to take, and possibly get matched up with older students to look up to as mentors. Among the Changemaker Campuses, Babson University in Massachusetts has a standout program called “From Day One” to introduce matriculating students to the
BT: What can college students themselves do to learn the skills they need to be social entrepreneurs?
students can develop an actionable plan that actually addresses the designated need. Social business plan competitions are great opportunities to test out these plans with a judging committee. During the research process or before heading out to start their venture, they could do an internship or apprenticeship with an established social entrepreneur in their chosen issue area. They could seek out campus mentors and avenues of involvement. Professors of social entrepreneurship can serve as either teachers or mentors (or both). Professors across nearly all disciplines are now emerging across the country and, indeed, across the globe. BT: What are the differences between training an entrepreneur and training a social entrepreneur?
MK: In terms of training particular competencies for entrepreneurs versus social enMK: Ideally, students should first identify trepreneurs, there isn’t that much difference. the problem they wish to solve. They should The qualities it takes to become successful understand the issue from the perspectives as a for-profit or social entrepreneur are the of multiple stakeholders and investigate the same: you need to be persistent, resilient, real need of a community. Prospective social creative and excited about solving problems entrepreneurs should take this learning pro- day in and day out. cess seriously since understanding the problem well and engaging partners is key to de- To be successful, entrepreneurs need to veloping a systemic and sustainable solution. understand the needs of their main conSet goals to meet with the leaders – both on stituents or client base to help effectively campus and in the community – in the field solve their problems. However, in the case that you care about. Then after specifically of social entrepreneurs, they almost always defining the problem you seek to address, work in complex systems and inside comFALL 2011 BUSINESS TODAY
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