Part of Qatar’s Education City. Inspired by the Zoloft egg.

Running an SFS campus in Qatar makes us look sophisticated and globalized, but it’s also a hassle–loaning our professors, having to be interested in Qatar’s Georgetown Day tent just for some henna. Isn’t there some way you can benefit from Qatar?

Actually, there is. You could take a free trip to Qatar from August 16th to the 23rd, and all you have to do is sign up for a class on social entrepreneurship:

Using the Polycon RPX video-conference room in Doha, Qatar and Washington, DC and with a mandatory, all-expenses paid, week-long trip to Qatar from August 16-23 (for SFS students) and to DC from October 1-7 (for SFSQ students), Hoyas in both campuses will be introduced to social entrepreneurship. A social entrepreneur is a “financially self-sustainable agent of transformative social progress.”

Trip aside, the course sounds pretty cool, with videoconferencing, video editing, and turning Gulf oil barons into angel investors. If that’s not your bag, though, why not just take the trip? It ends on the 23rd, and add-drop is over on September 6th. Hurry, though–the application deadline is July 31st.

After the jump, an email about the course

*INAF-447:  Social Entrepreneurship in the Mideast & US: Bridge to the Common Good?*
Prof. Dale D. Murphy, murphydd@georgetown.edu.
Weds 9am-11am, plus one-on-one meetings by Skype, and meetings with mentors

_*Only six seats are available*_. _Students must be available to travel to Qatar (all expenses paid by SFS-Qatar) from August 16-23, and be in DC the morning of the 16th to participate in the first video class. _

If there is high demand, the following criteria will be used to select students: interest in and ability to handle cross-cultural exchange (especially in the Middle East), leadership, ability to work independently, creativity, innovation.   Given this time-frame, some weight will be given to students who apply first.  We seek a balance of men and women, with some preference for Juniors (but Seniors and Sophomores will be considered).
*_The registration cut-off date is Thursday, July 31st. _ *Please email a short paragraph or two describing yourself and your reasons for taking this course to Prof. Murphy at murphydd@georgetown.edu.
_*Electronic Seat Request*_: To register for a potential open seat please click on the following link: https://www12.georgetown.edu/sfs/ibd/signup/

_*Course Overview*_:  Using the Polycon RPX video-conference room in Doha, Qatar and Washington, DC and with a mandatory, all-expenses paid, week-long trip to Qatar from August 16-23 (for SFS students) and to DC from October 1-7 (for SFSQ students), Hoyas in both campuses will be introduced to social entrepreneurship.  A social entrepreneur is a “financially self-sustainable agent of transformative social progress.”

The course beings with an historical understanding of why entrepreneurship in general — and social ventures in particular — have emerged as popular phenomenon in the 21st century.  Students will learn about market failures, the assumptions of many neo-classical economic models, and the ways in which social entrepreneurship tries to address these.  Given the cross-cultural opportunity afforded by the dual-campuses, we will give some attention to entrepreneurship in the Middle East, drawing on lessons from around the world, and the opportunities and challenges posed by cultural, political, and religious differences and similarities.  Discussion and readings on international political economy, business ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR), business and politics, “agent-structure” debates (on the role of individuals vs. broader social forces), and case studies of social ventures give a broader perspective on and backdrop to the subject.  Particular emphasis will be placed on exploring the concept of the “common good” (or “public interest”), which is sometimes translated into Arabic as “maslahah” (plural masaleh).  A short paper will explore these topics.

Next, students will be exposed to the risks, rewards, responsibilities, science and art of entrepreneurship, by beginning to explore the possibility of starting their own ventures.  (Students should be thinking about this over the summer, before the course even begins.)  Students will learn to distinguish ideas from opportunities and to recognize the fundamental importance of the lead entrepreneur (themselves?).  They are encouraged to explore their true passions, what really interests and motivates them.  Individual or small-team proposals are permitted.  Students will develop, critique, write, orally-present, and revise a mini-business plan that identifies plausible sources of revenues (profits).  They will prepare and edit an effective video pitch (using iMovie, Final Cut Pro, or similar software), identify potential sources of seed-financing, and advisers/mentors.  These are due at the end of the exam period.

As a group project, half the class will examine the possibility of creating a three-year “angel investor competition” among wealthy scions in the Gulf, investing in teams of social entrepreneurs throughout the entire Middle East.  The other half will examine how a weekly reality-TV show might cover this and gain a Middle East audience.  The course will conclude with a discussion of the possible role and limits of social entrepreneurship to address fundamental and systemic challenges, within and between countries around the world.

Flickr photo by user Makz used under a Creative Commons license

This entry was posted on Monday, July 28th, 2008 at 2:28 pm and is filed under News, Vox Populi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.