Immersion trip participants visiting Pearson in New York City.
In Fiscal Year ’14, COVE expanded on its mission to cultivate a community of students who will be leaders in social responsibility and community engagement by expanding the new Social Innovation Initiative, designed to support students in the pursuit of innovative, transformative, and sustainable solutions to social problems.
We believe that the problems facing today’s world are more complex than ever before, and solutions require interdisciplinary thinking and cross-sector collaboration. More than 100 students participated in the initiative throughout the year, gaining skills in new ways to positively impact the world.
Faculty in Residence
Faculty in Residence: Ashoka Award-Winning Course “Social Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Problem Solvers”
Taught by Anke Wessels, director of Center for Transformative Action at Cornell University
This course introduced students to social entrepreneurs, innovators, and visionaries — people who are coming up with new methods to resolve pressing social problems. Participants contrasted traditional methods of activism with a new approach that combines the pragmatism of social entrepreneurship with the compassionate, collaborative engagement of transformative action. The result is less ideological, less adversarial, more locally specific, and more solutions-oriented than previous collective actions for change.
The course was not a traditional lecture course. It was highly interactive, experiential, and dynamic. The learning process involved self-reflection, critical analysis, research, and action. Students learned about social entrepreneurs and innovators through readings and case studies. In addition, students developed a set of skills, tools, and practices intended to support them in being agents for change, no matter where they go.
Upon completion of the course students were be able to:
- Describe and explain key characteristics of social entrepreneurship and how this movement compares to traditional entrepreneurship and previous collective actions for social change.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how social entrepreneurship contributes to creating an economy that is socially just, ecologically sound, and resilient.
- Utilize a set of skills, tools, and practices that will support you in being an agent for change.
- Evaluate and create business models for mission-driven social ventures.
- Design and develop their own Big Idea for Social Change.
New York City Alternative Break Trip
Eight students spent one week in New York City during spring break, meeting with and learning about large corporations and startups focused on social innovation along the whole spectrum of involvement in the social innovation space.
The week consisted of meetings with organizations that are making real strides in community engagement, social responsibility, and social innovation, such as Do Something, Pearson, Arabella Advisors, J.P. Morgan Chase, Deloitte, Runa Tea, and TYTHE Design.
Students were also able to meet with Colgate alumni who are actively involved in socially innovative ventures to gain insight into the realities of pursuing their passions professionally.
StartUp Experience
The Max Shacknai COVE partnered with Hamilton College and the Robert A. Fox Leadership Institute to bring the StartUp Experience to Hamilton College’s campus. The StartUp Experience is an experiential entrepreneurship education program designed to train young people in the art of high-impact entrepreneurship and user-driven innovation.
The participants competed in teams to identify a specific user need, screen relevant technologies, generate ideas, and conceptualize a solution. Then, they set out to find a sustainable business model and use visual communication and prototyping to pitch the idea to the jury at the end of the workshop.
Speaker Series
The COVE’s social innovation speaker series put Colgate community members and other friends on stage to address students. Guests included:
- Michael Wenger ’09, a serial social entrepreneur who has used his Colgate education to launch and grow a number of social start-ups
- Marcos Salazer, founder of Be Social Change, a community-driven nonprofit on a mission to educate and connect the next generation of change makers
- Evelyn Huang and Jennifer Lopez, Design Thinking Strategists at Capital One Labs, who spoke on Leading Innovation and Change within an Organization: Launching a Career with Purpose