The Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM), in collaboration with the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and the University of Groningen, organized the 2024 Global Summer Week (GSW) program.
The event took place from Jul. 15 to 26, 2024, in the 8th-floor Auditorium of the Learning Center Building at FEB UGM.
On the second day, Tuesday, Jul. 16, 2024, the summer course featured the themes “Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation” and “Designing Social Business Models and Measuring Social Impact,” delivered by epidemiology expert Dr. Eelko from the University of Groningen.
During the summer course seminar, Dr. Eelko discussed innovation and social entrepreneurship, dividing the topic into three parts: innovation, entrepreneurship, and social aspects.
He emphasized that social entrepreneurship activities aim to help others. Although the goal is to achieve significant profits, these profits should be directed toward helping others.
“So, this type of business is not just about making a lot of money for oneself, but also about generating money to help others,” he explained.
In response to a participant’s question about what kind of business could address hunger in a particular area, Dr. Eelko stated that the business model developed should provide long-term solutions. Giving or delivering food is not enough to solve the problem.
“It requires deep observation to answer, understand, and identify the root of the problem,” he said.
Regarding social enterprises, Dr. Eelko stressed that any business activity aimed at creating social impact in the community still needs to generate profit to ensure continuous operation. Profits can be achieved through collaboration with various partners.
One of the GSW participants, Giulia Naspi from the University of Canterbury, expressed that her participation in the summer course was very beneficial and provided an interesting experience, especially with lecturers from various universities.
Gideon Lee from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shared similar sentiments. He said this program offers a great opportunity for Indonesian students to collaborate internationally with international students.
“I think this program fully supports Indonesian students in gaining exposure to what is happening in the field by directly engaging and communicating with their new friends,” he explained.
Author: Leony
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang