The E&I Social Entrepreneurship course works with organizations exploring innovative solutions for social problems. Course instructors lecture and foster discussion on the current research findings on social entrepreneurship in the theoretical units. At the same time, students work in teams of 4 to 5 on a pertinent question from an external organization and draft a final document containing a well-founded analysis of the situation and recommendations for action.

Although all the cases students work on fall under “social entrepreneurship”, they still tend to vary in nature. So the E&I Social Entrepreneurship course does not follow a clearly structured problem-solving approach. Students are challenged with developing their own structures and schedules for the semester project as the course progresses. The course also takes place in a social start-up context where students work with new or entrepreneurial social organizations to develop solutions for the unresolved and central challenges these organizations face.

The practice-oriented E&I Social Entrepreneurship course provides students with insight into selected areas in the entrepreneurship and innovation field. After successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

o Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of and critically reflect on current academic and practical ideas and concepts around social entrepreneurship.

o Individually conceptualize an idea or strategic approach for a social enterprise.

o Combine and coordinate the individual functional aspects of founding an organization with social objectives in a meaningful context.

o Summarize their findings in a conclusive, professional report.

After successfully completing the course, students will be able to work independently on an unstructured task, and have practiced organizing and managing an innovative project in a team with mentoring from external coaches.

To complete this course with a positive grade, students must attend 80% of scheduled classes (exception: 100% attendance at literature test, kick-off and E&I Touchdown – event)

· Real-world projects completed  as part of a team with mentoring from course instructors and external coaches (in past semesters, projects included devising an innovation management concept for a large social organization in Vienna and developing an idea and implementation plan for a social start-up working in music/deafness)

· Open discussions on relevant contents with students, course instructors and practitioners

· Final presentation of results

· Summary of analyses in a final paper

· Skills workshop on course content

· Acquisition of the basics as independent study (required reading test and preparation task)

The final grade in the course will depend on:

•      10% literature test  (in English / literature according to Learn@WU)
•      25% engagement in the project (attendance, contribution to classes, coachings and workshop, ability and willingness to implement feedback) 
•      10% quality of Working Paper 1
•      10% quality of Working Paper 2
•      20% quality of final version of the paper
•      20% quality of presentations (final presentation, final pitch, adherence to touchdown deadlines)
•      5% reflection paper

Additionally, there will be peer ratings of the team members which may result in individual up- or downgradings.

Literature test: The aim of the compulsory literature test (1.10.2019 betweeen 8.00am and 9.00am) is to examine the necessary basic as well as specific knowledge in order to successfully work on your project.

If the literature test is not successfully passed, the Analyst Support Program (ASP) will be automatically applied. Within the Analyst Support Program, an individual performance has to be carried out in the further semester course, instead of the group work. In case of non-participation (only due to illness), a medical certificate must be presented. An alternative date will be offered for this purpose. You will receive detailed information about the content and location of the test after registration to the course.

Attendance: In order to successfully pass this course, your absence is limited to 20% of our appointments. Please note that the attendance of the literature test, the kick-off and the E&I Touchdown is obligatory!

Students enrolled in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Specialization Program.

Please note that course registration is binding. The moment your registration is received, it is regarded as a clear commitment on your part. Students cannot transfer to another course (once the add/drop period is over) with no exceptions, as it would be unfair to other students (who might not have gotten into the course of their choice because of the spot you registered for). The number of students accepted to the course will only be expanded if there is no space in any other course 4/5.