Social Entrepreneurship: Buzz word or big deal?

DAVOS, Switzerland

While most may not be aware of Social Entrepreneurship and its growing impact in the world economy, Intel recognizes its responsibility to local communities and the global community as a whole. Social Entrepreneurship, defined simply, is the use of entrepreneurial principles to achieve social change. At Intel, we promote, encourage and most importantly apply responsible business practices and methods to everything we do and to everyone we do business with. As Gandhi said “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”, and that is what makes me so proud to work at Intel, here it’s more than just a catchy ad campaign – we practice what we preach.

Many years ago, we realized that we couldn’t possibly know and understand every region’s unique needs and issues. To this end, we partnered with many organizations around the world, planning, supporting and developing novel ideas to help them tackle issues specific to their area, because they know their communities best. The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is our partner in the effort to promote social entrepreneurship and its abilities to advance societies and address social problems on a global scale.

Of course, you can’t advance an idea without teaching it, and who better to give advice on teaching, than the teachers and professors themselves? That’s why we enlisted the help of some of Germany’s best and brightest pedagogical minds to develop an effective way for teachers to teach and explore social entrepreneurship in the classroom.

Intel’s own Günther Jünger, Director of Corporate Affairs, EMEA, was on hand in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum to present the results of a year-long project between The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Intel, the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, and the Ingolstadt School of Management. This detailed 40+ page document, will be the cornerstone for developing and encouraging the future business leaders to consider all aspects of an organization’s impact to the community and global social environment. Commenting on the project, Jünger said: “Our hope is that by promoting, teaching and rewarding ethical, responsible and sound business practices, we can make the world a better place for future generations.” This on-going project has been driven by Dr. Thomas Osburg, Director of Intel Corporate Affairs – Europe, and will be updated regularly to ensure it remains as applicable and attractive to students and teachers tomorrow, as it is today.

Who knows, that student sitting in the classroom could be the next CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and when better to start encouraging and promoting responsible business practices than now!

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