INTEGRATING SOCIAL ENTERPRISE INTO A NON-PROFIT

Name and position of the participant and other supporting staff if relevant

Éva Révész, PhD

Assistant Professor
Name of the course and discipline, level and year of study and any useful background info.

Practical Project

MA in Management and Organization, 2nd year

Mandatory course

In Hungarian
Name of community partner and/or any other supporting partners (public or private sector) From Streets to Home Association

CERL project title(s)

 

Integrating the new social enterprise idea called Give Work! into the profile of the organization

​Building on the Fall semester work of a previous student group with the same organization in this course, the students developed a step-by-step plan how to launch and integrate the Give Work! project idea as a new social business into the profile of the organization. The group worked together with two other students from BA and MA in Finance writing their thesis about the financial planning of the social business to be launched.
Tangible info – e.g. module descriptor, learning outcomes, assignments, assessment criteria, …

VTVK019NMMB

The aim and structure of the course:

The course offers the opportunity for experiential learning based on intensive cooperation between higher education and the labour market. Even for our students with significant work experience, it will be a new situation that they have to apply what they have learned in the specializations with high-level independence and responsibility, in a real teamwork situation.

Students solve an actual and real-life organizational problem in teams of 3 with the support of the host organization and a university consultant/tutor; primarily in the areas of process organization, controlling, or strategic management. The 3-person teams provide their preference regarding the project offered in a given semester. The project starts with a kick-off meeting and follows with the team compiling the project definition document (PDD), that sets out the semester tasks, methods, “deliverables” and their deadlines. It is completed with the signature of the host organization and a university tutor. During the duration of the project, the student teams work continuously with the contact person of the host organization as well as their university tutor. In addition to the “deliverables” recorded in the PDD, students will prepare a written project report on the work done and its results, and then present it to the representatives of the partner organizations, their lecturers and fellow students in the form of a final conference presentation. This semester-long work of the teams is evaluated by the team’s university tutors, taking into account the opinions of the host organization and the faculty. Regarding the credit number of the subject and the system of assessment, the completion of the project task during the intensive period of the project (from the end of February to the middle of May) requires approx. requires 6-8 hours of work per week (some of which can be done on site, others can be done regardless of location).

Learning Outcomes:

·        By completing the course, the student is able:

·         to compile a project plan autonomously: to set project goals that fit the organizational goals, to break it down into the expected results, and to assign methods, responsibilities and schedules to them,

·        to give well-thought-out and practical answers (suggestions, tools) to novel problems with a high degree of independence,

·        to shape and improve the operation of the project team as a proactive participant in a project,

·        to take responsibility for the work and results of the group,

·        to summarize the work s/he has done and its results in a professional, convincing presentation,

·        to strive for systematic work and sophistication,

·        to have consultancy role, that is characterized by open and ethical behaviour.

How was it taught:

1.      number of students

2.      student groupwork or individual,

3.      how they worked with the partner,

4.      how the project proceeded,

5.      any reflection done with students,

6.      evaluation or formal assessment of their learning,

7.      Could or should we follow up with students?

8.      tech used

9.      Anything else interesting?

10.   For how long have you been teaching this course, and since when there is a community partner involved?

1.      3 students

2.      The Practical Project course allows students to work as a group on a project they choose.

3.      They had several meetings with the representatives of the community partner and some homeless members of the Give work! program and exchanged information with the group working with the partner on this social business idea in the autumn semester, and with the students writing the financial planning for the project as their thesis work

4.      The students prepared their project plan to launch the social business with supporting analysis and some contacts the partner can use if they want to launch the idea.

5.      The students from the group and the community partner both filled the feedback form as the Spring semester group work ended.

6.      The partner was present when the students presented their group work at the closing conference of the course and reflected live on the results. The group got a formal evaluation and grade for their work from the tutor (see certain details above)

7.      n/a

8.      Teams, share google folder set up by the science shop, accessible for the stakeholders of the project as a shared online surface

9.      n/a

10.   About 10 years. This course works with business companies, but we (the team of lecturers) seek to involve NGOs as well. In every semester we have 1-2 community partners in this course.

What did you CHANGE about your programme/course in relation to CERL during CIRCLET?

 

1.      more thorough preparation: clarification of frameworks and expectations with the community partner in the beginning of the semester

2.      continuous availability for students (not only along the project plan)

3.      How working with a community partner can be extended to upcoming semesters and to various student groups and disciplines/programs of the university

CHALLENGES and how you overcame them?

 

 

 The project was built on a previous student group’s work from the autumn semester and had to ensure all information is handed over between the student groups. Since the need of the partner was more complex and needed other disciplinary input – financial planning besides the business model and launch planning, two students who chose their thesis topics to be financial planning were introduced to the partner and their project. Had to ensure that the different aspects of the partners need all get proper input and help the students coordinate between each other and with the partner without “using” unnecessary amount of the partner’s time

What did your STUDENTS LEARN or how will they benefit?

 

 Student response to this question: “We are thankful that we could work on this project! We’ve gained a whole lot of useful knowledge and experience. We hope ULE will benefit from the prepared material and will serve them as a useful guideline to launch their Give Work! social business!”​

What do you think the BENEFIT was TO THE PARTNER?

Do You have any feedback from the partner?

 

The partner was reassured and supported that their project idea can and should be launched since it has value to deliver, and the partner shared that they gained valuable input for them to enact on the idea

The partner’s response in the science shop feedback form:

“We have a complete itinerary in front of us into the future, what steps we have to take to proceed. It was our secret plan that the students not only conduct interviews to get to know the business better but also to find potential partners, and this material they’ve prepared puts this whole thing into an action plan, I would just like to thank them for it.”