Last month, EADA Business School expanded its network of academic partners committed to social innovation with the newest collaboration with the Ashoka Foundation, the world’s leading community that brings together more than 4,000 social entrepreneurs in 90 countries. Its mission is to create and promote a global network of changemakers, that is, leaders of social change, to multiply their influence and impact.
The partnership promotes pedagogical knowledge on social innovation through the development of joint projects. According to Jordi Díaz, Dean of EADA, “Both institutions share the same commitment to driving social innovation and solving social challenges through changemakers who inspire other people and change the world.”
In signing the agreement, Díaz emphasised the international recognition that EADA has achieved in 2020 by ranking among the 9 best business schools best valued for their positive impact on society, according to the Positive Impact Rating – a new global evaluation conducted by the Positive Rating Association. The rating is based on student evaluation, which is good news, according to Diaz. “This confirms that the social and environmental issues affecting all of us today are an important part of the curricular and extracurricular experiences of our participants in the multicultural environment of EADA,” he says.
Along the same lines, Alexandra Mitjans, Director of Ashoka Spain, who states that her organization “identifies, connects and accompanies innovative and entrepreneurial people with the ability to bring great ideas to reality”. He added: “They are changemakers who go out of their comfort zone to generate disruptive ideas. Their success depends on their ability to motivate the people around them to be participants in solutions that improve the world ”.
Amaia Elizalde, Director of Alumni and Fundraising at EADA, believes that “academic institutions and social enterprises must move in the same direction and find joint solutions to problems that have worsened as a result of Covid 19.” In her opinion, “future leaders must have this mindset, therefore, we instill it in all our programmes and reinforce it through agreements with socially committed entities.”
As a result of this collaboration, the current participants of the EADA Master in Sustainable Business & Innovation will carry out their final projects based on seven social projects promoted by seven Ashoka entrepreneurs, the Ashoka Fellows. Specifically, they will have to analyze the scalability of the social / environmental impact and make a mapping of the stakeholders of companies that address challenges such as economic development, education, employment, the environment, citizen participation, health or technology.
“For all of them it will be a unique opportunity to act as changemakers, learn from organizations that are changing the world, be inspired and inspire their environment,” says Federica Massa-Saluzzo, director of the master programme.