Elements of Excellence
What makes for an enabling university environment for social entrepreneurs and changemakers? And how do we get there?
Over the past several years Ashoka U posed that question to our Changemaker Campuses, Ashoka Fellows, academic advisors, philanthropic leaders and industry experts. We pulled together their input, experience, and reflection into the Ashoka U Elements of Excellence.
The Elements serve as a roadmap to help universities and colleges to create high quality social entrepreneurship programs that blend the best of theory and practice. The Elements guide a school to both embed social entrepreneurship into existing student and faculty infrastructure, as well as create a new institutional home for social entrepreneurship. For resources for each of the elements, please see here.
The Changemaker Campuses are working to set this global standard of excellence, while also bringing their own innovations and creativity to advance the field.
ASHOKA U ELEMENTS of EXCELLENCE
Teaching and Curriculum
- High quality courses and curriculum
- Concepts of social entrepreneurship integrated into existing courses across disciplines
- Students demonstrate proficiency in the Changemaker competencies
Research
- Applied research to advance social entrepreneurship theory and practice
Applied Learning and Apprenticeship
- Practice-based learning and apprenticeship opportunities for students that emphasize social entrepreneurship
- Established relationships with SE organizations/companies that recruit graduates for apprenticeships
Role Models
- Ongoing relationships with leading social entrepreneurs as role models and mentors
- Channels that highlight alumni SE and changemaker role models
Resources
- Long-term funding for key faculty and staff roles
- Funding for both student and faculty projects
Community and Culture
- A culture of social innovation thrives campus-wide, not just in one school, department or college.
- The campus community supports one another in their individual and collective pursuits of systemic change.
