Teaching

The RGK Center is committed to developing the next generation of social entrepreneurs. Through the development of a teaching methodology and courses that are relevant to any discipline, the RGK Social Entrepreneurship Program trains and inspires students from diverse backgrounds and interests to develop their own solutions to the world’s most pressing social problems.

Graduate Courses

Social Entrepreneurship
The graduate course in social entrepreneurship is designed to directly train students in the formulation of a real-world solution to a current problem of their choosing. Over the course of the semester, students work through a series of modules in which they identify and refine an initial innovative idea, and then construct it into a robust business plan proposition that could be launched into a viable organization. Among the topics covered in class are:  identifying innovation, formulating a theory of change, understanding your market, choosing the best organizational structure, building a sustainable financial model, marketing your idea, and measuring impact. Students are free to select from non-profit, for-profit and hybrid organizational types and the course attracts graduate students from many disciplines and schools throughout the university.

Introduction to Design for Social Innovation
This course is for individuals interested in learning how to put the tools of design toward their passion for changing the world. “Design Thinking” has emerged as a popular term to describe the application of design theory to any number of problems.  This course is both design thinking and design doing.  Students will use the principles of design research, research synthesis, ideation, prototyping and storytelling to develop a thoughtful and compelling idea for a new product or service that has genuine impact and human value.  The tool kit learned during this course is a problem solving tool kit, applicable to problems outside the traditional boundaries of design.

Students will leave this course with 1) an understanding of design process, 2) a methodology for researching human needs at the heart of a problem, 3) frameworks for interpreting those needs into opportunities for a social business, 4) skills and confidence in rapid visualization and making ideas tangible through drawing and prototyping, 5) the thick skin required to take critique, and 6) techniques for making ideas resonate with potential funders and potential customers.

Finance for Social Ventures
This course is designed as an introduction to finance for students who aspire to be social entrepreneurs. Students who expect to support social ventures during their careers as donors, financial investors, or board members will also find this course useful. By the end of the semester, students will understand how to use financial tools for decision making in social ventures, and will become familiar with existing and evolving capital opportunities for funding nonprofit and for-profit social ventures.

Undergraduate Courses

Signature Course in Social Innovation
The freshman undergraduate Signature Course in Social Innovation is designed to introduce students to the concept of social innovation and how it is a positive force for social change in modern society. In this applied learning course, each student selects an entrepreneurial social organization from either the non-profit or for-profit sectors, and with tutorial and guidance from the instructors, then proceeds to dissect the organization over the course of the semester. Students are challenged to evaluate all key aspects of the organization, including its theory of change, financial sustainability, marketing strategy, partnerships, and impact measures. The final project is comprised of a complete organizational assessment along with detailed recommendations on how the organization can strengthen its innovation and expand its impact.

International

Institute on Social Entrepreneurship
The RGK Center is committed to sharing the concepts and tools of social entrepreneurship to students and aspiring social entrepreneurs around the world. To that end, the RGK Center works in partnership with a number of organizations dedicated to promoting social entrepreneurship abroad.

In 2010, in partnership with the US State Department, the RGK Center launched the Institute on Social Entrepreneurship, a six-week summer program in which 20 international students come to the University of Texas for hands-on training in social entrepreneurship. For more information on the Institute on Social Entrepreneurship, please visit the program website.