The meaning of the Global Social Enterprise will be illuminated from different major facets to reinvent international business and to understand it's current complexity in today's global context of environmental devastation and social inequality. The GSE will focus not only on reducing harm but also on working pro-actively on the role of business in improving the planet by next generation business professionals. It is about challenging ways of critical thinking and working, without ignoring the tools of working and management to create the international business of tomorrow's planet. Students from various courses will be challenged to find new ways and concepts (like social entrepeneurship) of doing international business with a human focus and/or environmental sensitivity.    

The following key topics in the minor have in common global social entrepreneurship. Each part aims at a critical understanding and analysis of doing business in interaction with its social and economic environment, zooming in on a specific issue that will provide a focus for analysis of a range of different international social business practices. 

1.     Global Social Enterprise & Green Marketing

Exploring the concept and soul of Social Entrepeneurship versus your own position as a student. Green Marketing focuses on the entire international green marketing strategies, planning process, and optional country-selection and -analysis. Fundamental concepts will be applied through a wide range of business challenges (‘real life’ companies), small and large, from around the world. Including BRIC countries, marketing to bottom of pyramid (BOP) in emerging countries.  And last but not least, corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship.

2.     The Environmental Track: environmental communication and storyscaping

In the simplest terms, environmental communication is communication about environmental and social affairs. This includes all of the diverse forms of interpersonal, group, public, organizational, and mediated communication that make up the social debate about environmental and societal issues and problems, and the company’s relationship to the rest of nature and social issues.  Environmental communication aims to promote your company, your brand and your products as environmentally and social responsible, building on real commitment and achievements. It is ideally a two-way engagement process with key stakeholders. It includes essentials of international (online) marketing communication (especially storyscaping).

3.     Innovation, stakeholder management and social entrepreneurship. Circular economy. International Law.

Particularly in the field of innovation, (international) stakeholder engagement is critical to international business innovation, social entrepreneurship, international law issues and circular economy.

Students will learn how effective business decision makers can balance and protect the interests of various stakeholders, including investors, employees, consumers, the community and the environment. It emphasizes the social, legal, political, and ethical responsibilities of today's businesses to both external and internal stakeholder groups. International business of the future becomes more and more global social entrepreneurship.

Program Learning outcomes covered in GSE:

- Use the process of thoughtful evaluation to formulate a reasonable conclusion deliberately.

- Create innovative ideas in a changing business environment systematically.

- Collaborate effectively with different kinds of stakeholders, in different cultural, organisational and political landscapes to contribute to achieving agreed goals.

- Formulate his own position concerning ethical and social responsibility in a professional environment.

- Display willingness to work with people from other cultures and to work in countries with different cultural backgrounds.

- Analyse a complex business problem in an international business setting with use of an adequate research design, resulting in an evidence based feasible solution.

- Develop a well-founded marketing plan to support the creation of value for international customers.

Students will develop their skills in writing, oral and/or visual presentation, discussing and doing (small-scale) explorative research and problem-solving under supervision on the basis of well-defined research questions and according to different (design thinking) methods current in international sustainable (green) marketing/business studies.

Target groups: All study programs

In case of any workshops and excursions, there may be special costs.

Contact time: 1 day per week

Global Social Enterprise invoke students to reinventing international business around a human focus and/or with societal impact. Through HILL-learning concept, using interactive (online) workshops, (online) teamwork, real life challenges, (online)guest lectures, company visits, a study trip (tentative) and students’ own input, participants will explore, discover and connect new approaches of practicing international business from a social perspective.

A professional attitude and being open-minded are highly appreciated. Students will work in diverse teams of 2-3 persons. They will take the lead in their own learning

The Integral assessment GSE Showcase contains the 4 compulsory sections: GSE research-based paper (40%) + GSE Prototype (20%) + GSE Final Presentation (10%) + GSE Oral Defense (30%)

Expenses in case of excursions or workshops