Leading experts and international students drive social entrepreneurship discussion at DCU
Last week at DCU Business School, eight doctoral students from Ireland and across the globe took part in an intensive week-long social entrepreneurship doctoral seminar, from Sunday June 10 until Friday June 15.
Hosted by globally recognised entrepreneurship scholar and Director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at The University of Oklahoma, Professor Tom Lumpkin, the seminar aimed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the core concepts of social entrepreneurship. The eight students were chosen based on their qualifications and letters of interest, and spent the week in sessions discussing a selection of academic papers, totalling fifty by the end of the week. Joining Professor Tom Lumpkin and doctoral students was Dr Justin Craig, a leading family enterprise academic and Director of the Centre for Family Enterprises at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Dr Justin Craig is also an adjunct Professor of Family Enterprise at DCU Centre for Family Business and was recently commemorated for his contributions to the Centre.
Social entrepreneurship is a business venture which has a social purpose or objective, and where business profits are reinvested into this objective. Social enterprise has a global presence. Examples at a local level in Ireland include FoodCloud, who provide food hubs and surplus food to charities and communities; The Melting Pot Luck which promotes social inclusion between asylum seekers living in direct provision and their surrounding communities through put luck dinners; and the Irish Men's Sheds Association. The core characteristic is that it's more about a shared collective goal rather than growth and profit.
The eight doctoral students were from Ireland, USA, South Korea, South Africa, The Netherlands, Germany, UK, and Australia. During the months following the seminar, students are invited to write an article for submission to a journal or academic conference. As an opportunity for learning and collaboration, this intensive social entrepreneurship seminar has led to successful publication for attending students. Collaborations originating from relationships formed during past seminars have produced articles published in Academy of Management Review, Journal of Business Venturing and International Small Business Journal, and numerous conference presentations.
"Social entrepreneurship is becoming an increasingly important area of research and teaching as universities seek innovative ways to use entrepreneurial skills and practices to make a positive societal impact. With our social entrepreneurship doctoral seminar, we are educating the next generation of professors and thought leaders about what's working and what's not working, and how best to contribute. Because Dublin offers an ideal combination of rich heritage and forward-thinking global engagement, it has been a fantastic place for our students to learn. DCU Business School has been very welcoming and supportive of the social entrepreneurship doctoral seminar and we look forward to new opportunities to collaborate in the future" – Professor Tom Lumpkin.
