CEMS Magazine | May 2011
Interview Interview was held by CEMS student Robert Gnauck, and edited by CEMs students Cleo Biron and Jort Duijnker
CEMS students launch Social Entrepreneurship Network Station Q.
Rafal, how did you come up with A group of motivated CEMS students the idea for SENStation and what is your and alumni started SENStation (Social motivation behind this initiative? Entrepreneurship Network Station) to help students find meaning, achieve A. I aim to make my life a meaningful journey sense. The idea of SENStation goes back to my their goals and truly make a difference. with thesis topic, written under supervision of Prof. Dr.
SENStation is an online networking community for a selective group of universities and leading students from a variety of disciplines, that leads the way in social entrepreneurship networking by spreading the powerful philosophy of “Bringing SENS to Life".
Frank Hartmann, at Rotterdam School of Management. I researched to understand what drives people at an individual level rather than at the aggregate level of social mass interaction. I focused my attention on the topic of self-efficacy (confidence). The problem is that traditional media are focusing mostly on negative information, which more easily catches our attention, but lowers our confidence in the process. To regain focus on positive news, I looked for positive social initiatives and in doing so, I heard about Rick Vinken, founder of the Kembe Foundation setting up social businesses in developing countries. The people from Kembe see opportunity in problems, so I felt I needed to talk to them. This was the beginning of SENStation.
SENStation will leverage the capabilities and opportunities for each single stakeholder in our alliance to make a How did you bring SENStation to life world of difference and a difference and what is the connection to CEMS? in the world. Thus, CEMS will be collaborating with SENStation as an A. The most crucial factor in determining our success so far is our exceptional core team. This team of official partner. Together, these former and current CEMS students consists of: Lorenn two leaders of the social and professional Ruster, focused on providing a unique user experience and strong product flow, Mateusz Stankiewicz, our legal world are integrating the SENS expert, Menno de Block, building strong relationships philosophy and CEMS’s reach and with our partners, Antoine Lepretre, responsible for our community, and Jort Duijnker, together ambition to create a better world us all. developing with myself responsible for strategy and operations,
Q.
The CEMS Student Board Social Responsibility Team with Cleo Biron, Melis Zipkinkurt, Riikka Pievilainen, Robert Gnauck, Peter Chuang and Marco van de Beek has been our link to partnering with CEMS and they deserve much appreciation for their work since we first met at the Yunus Conference in Rotterdam.
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CEMS Magazine spoke to the CEMS alumnus that initiated this project and is part of the core team behind it, Rafal Siepak.
linking the various areas of responsibility and creating high-value content. The amount of energy, drive and motivation that every one of us brings to the table has continued to amaze me and I believe that it is our unique mix of skills and talent that will be decisive in SENStation’s future success.
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