About the Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership Program

For detailed information and participation in the program, an online application is required. Applications continue until February 28, 2019.

The first lesson of the program, which will start on March 4, 2019, will be given by our Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Barca on "strategic thinking and leadership".

What is entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship, which does not have a single definition, can be defined as providing employment, economic growth, innovation, increasing product and service quality, competition and the source of economic flexibility. We look at entrepreneurship as a mindset, which Hattab associates with added value, Shane and Venkataraman associates with the discovery and evaluation of opportunities, Jean Baptiste Ray associates with managerial skills, Wilson associates with tangible output, and Foss and Klein associates with taking risks and transforming opportunities into innovative applications.

In the report on Entrepreneurship and Action Plan in Europe adopted by the European Commission, entrepreneurship is defined as follows: “entrepreneurship” is first and foremost a mindset. It defines the motivation and capacity of a person to identify an opportunity, independently or within an organization, and to pursue this opportunity to create new value or achieve economic success.

So… What is Social Entrepreneurship?

Social entrepreneurship, a sub-component of entrepreneurship that has attracted attention in recent years, is the process of entrepreneurial activities that aim to produce value focused on social problems, develop more efficient, sustainable and new solutions by addressing social issues and needs, and create social impact. Therefore, the most important feature that distinguishes social entrepreneurship from other types is to focus on social issues and produce solutions.

The focus of social entrepreneurship is “not to give fish, but to teach how to fish”. Therefore, creating change, producing effective and long-term solutions are essential at the core of social events.

The characteristics that a social entrepreneur should have are listed by Thompson as follows:

· Identify a need gap and relate this gap to an opportunity,

· Bring together and motivate others to establish the necessary networks,

· Find the needed resources,

· Overcome obstacles and cope with inherent risk,

· Put forward appropriate systems to control risk.

Leadership?

Leadership is the influencing and directing of a group that comes together for a common purpose under certain conditions towards a common goal. Leadership within the scope of entrepreneurship is the person who influences and directs the performance of group members in terms of acting in accordance with the goal by discovering and evaluating relevant opportunities. The essence of an entrepreneurial leader is to be able to take the group out of the current situation and to activate the innovative spirit within the group. Therefore, a leader is someone who can carry both the principles of entrepreneurship and the responsibilities required by leadership, and who can take risks if necessary.

What do we aim for with the Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership Program?

The Entrepreneurship and Leadership Program to be implemented aims to develop personal characteristics and skills that direct students to an entrepreneurial mindset. Thus, individuals who are not only looking for a job in certain organizations after their training, but also have the courage to be the founder of their own business will be able to make their self-assessments on a realistic basis. The trainings to be provided within the scope of the program include various elements such as behavioral development of students (creativity, initiative, risk taking, autonomy, self-confidence, leadership, team spirit, etc.), transfer of sectoral knowledge to students, and acquisition of knowledge and skills for establishing and running a company.

The desired goals are as follows:

To reveal the social entrepreneurship and leadership potential within you

To increase your conceptual awareness
To come together with social entrepreneurs
To participate in practical workshop activities
To provide mentoring support in your social entrepreneurship and leadership processes
To take part in potential project groups
To contribute to strengthening the university-society-private sector relationship

We invite volunteers who want to have fun and produce while learning with differently designed course content to join our Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership Program.