Social Innovation Weekend receives USASBE co-curricular events award
Award is one of two ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University received from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Social Innovation Weekend receives USASBE co-curricular events award
An annual event at the Farmer School of Business John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship won an award this month from the .
, held during the spring semester since 2018, received USASBE’s Social Entrepreneurship SIG Award for Excellence for Co-Curricular Programming or Events. This award recognizes exceptional programming outside the traditional classroom that gives students new ways to learn about and practice entrepreneurship that can make a difference in addressing important social and environmental problems.
Social Innovation Weekend is a partnership of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship with ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University’s Global Health Studies and Social Work programs. The event integrates key public and private stakeholder organizations at the state, county, and local city-level with students to solve significant societal issues during a 48-hour weekend timeframe.
"Students get plenty of opportunities to specialize, but broadening their perspective through hands-on, cross-disciplinary experiences can really reshape the way they think about working for the common good," interim department chair and director of the Center For Social Entrepreneurship Michael Conger said.
Past topics for the weekend have ranged from infant mortality and opioid addiction to food insecurity and climate change. More than a dozen ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University programs have taken part in one or more Social Innovation Weekends.
“I learned so much, met so many great people, and received so much great feedback and advice,” accountancy and entrepreneurship major said after participating in the 2024 Social Innovation Weekend. “I came into this weekend with an idea I was passionate about solving and an open mind, that's it. I learned how to identify a problem and dig deeper to figure out the root issue. I learned how to work with a team. I learned how to reach out and ask important questions. I learned the importance of taking breaks and how beneficial it is during a high stress and productive time. By far, the most important thing is that I learned more about the community around me and how so many of us want to make a difference.”
The award was one of two received by Farmer School and ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University programs from USASBE this year. The Center for L.I.F.E. (Leading the Integration of Faith and Entrepreneurship) won the 2025 Emerging Model Program Award. Last year, the John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship was named the 2024 Model Program. ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University also won the Model Program award in 2001.
Social Innovation Weekend 2025 will take place March 7-9.