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Programme 04 · Academy · Learn the practice

Courses in social entrepreneurship

Six courses, from a short introduction to a complete programme, combining theory with the practice of social enterprises in the region. Each can run for an open cohort or be adapted for a university, organisation or team.

Last reviewed November 2026
Courses

Six courses, three depths

Online enrolment closed with the old website. To join the next cohort, or to ask for a version adapted to your group, write to info@seobservatory.org.

Social Entrepreneurship 1-0-1

From an idea to social entrepreneurship practice

  • Introductory
  • 50 hours · 10–12 weeks

Takes participants from an idea to a plan they can act on, while keeping the social objective in view.

  1. Developing an idea: discovering and scoping it
  2. Developing a business model: the business case and the choice of model
  3. Developing a financial plan: projections and the plan itself
  4. Developing an action plan: strategy and road map
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Social Entrepreneurship 2.0

Social entrepreneurship in theory and practice

  • Intermediate
  • 50 hours · 10–12 weeks

For people who want to lead organisational development in the field: research and policy, leadership, and a link to sustainable development.

  1. Social entrepreneurship in theory: research, policy and sustainable development
  2. Social entrepreneurship in practice: leadership, networks, resources and social capital
  3. Think piece: individual or paired research on a chosen issue
  4. Connecting the idea to sustainable development: a matrix of activities mapped to the SDGs
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Social Entrepreneurship 1-on-1

Entrepreneurship and social change

  • Intermediate
  • 50 hours · 10–12 weeks

How business activity can produce social change, from corporate social responsibility to choosing a business model for impact.

  1. Social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility
  2. Leadership and creativity for innovation and entrepreneurship
  3. Contemporary practice: lessons from the region and beyond
  4. Social change through business: choosing the model and the activities that create social value
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Complete course

From novice to social entrepreneur

  • Comprehensive
  • 100 hours · about 20 weeks

The full programme, combining theory, regional practice and the ecosystem view used in the SE Index.

  1. Introduction to social entrepreneurship and innovation
  2. Social entrepreneurship in practice
  3. Contemporary practice in the region and globally
  4. Identifying institutional gaps and the social mission
  5. Mapping the ecosystem: the five dimensions and their actors
  6. Social change through business activities
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Short course

Introduction to social entrepreneurship

  • Short format
  • Length agreed with the group

A condensed introduction to the concepts, for teams, students or partners starting out.

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Short course

Business models for social enterprises

  • Short format
  • Length agreed with the group

A focused session on choosing and testing a business model that sustains the social mission.

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How they are taught

Lectures, field trips and casework

Teaching combines lectures, seminars, field trips, guest lectures and case work. Each module ends with a written exercise presented at a seminar, graded pass or fail, and is evaluated by participants so the course can be adjusted as it runs.

A 50-hour course, roughly one hour a day
Lectures and seminars20 h
Field trips and guest lectures10 h
Individual work10 h
Group work5 h
Consultation5 h
Readings

From the introductory course

Contemporary articles are added for each course and level, in consultation with the course coordinator.

  1. Dees, J. G. (1998). The meaning of social entrepreneurship. Kauffman Foundation and Stanford University.
  2. Austin, J., Stevenson, H., & Wei-Skillern, J. (2006). Social and commercial entrepreneurship: Same, different, or both? Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(1), 1–22.
  3. Martin, R. L., & Osberg, S. (2007). Social entrepreneurship: The case for definition. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring, 29–39.
  4. Kerlin, J. A. (2010). A comparative analysis of the global emergence of social enterprise. Voluntas, 21, 162–179.
  5. Chichevaliev, S. (2019). Conducive factors for development and promotion of social entrepreneurship in North Macedonia. Journal of European and Balkan Perspectives, Spring, 63–74.

Looking for open courses you can start today? See the Training Academy in the Clinic.

Join a course

Tell us who the course is for

Write with the course you are interested in, the size of the group and the language you need. We will reply with the options available.

info@seobservatory.org
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