ID 598: Social Entrepreneurship provides an opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of social entrepreneurship and to apply those concepts as they analyze the role of social entrepreneurship activities. The focus is on entrepreneurship activities that further the public good - the creation of a social enterprise that benefits the community, encourages civic engagement, and meets the needs of both the clients of the organization and the residents of the community. A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change.

The course focuses on three central themes: entrepreneurship as social change, social innovation and value creation, and sustainability as a strategic issue. Fifty percent of the course grade is derived from a team-based project, in which teams work on the development of an action model of social entrepreneurship. This project begins during the first week of class and culminates with the delivery of a report and presentation.

During the Spring 2008 semester, students worked with a team of socially-minded entrepreneurs including a Chicago-based restaurant group, an entrepreneur focusing on renewable energy, a group of independent farmers, IIT’s Entrepreneur in Residence, and the community at large. These stakeholders were primarily interested in creating a sustainable local farming infrastructure, installing renewable energy systems, localizing the supply chain, increasing their ability for to feed the hungry, and identifying the framework for inner city businesses to become sustainable. Students focused on sharing food distribution and delivery systems, recycling and composting, waste fryer oil recycling, renewable energy processes, sustainable agricultural mechanisms, and carbon credits.

COURSE OBJECTIVES