The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) Australia is excited to announce the launch of its first School in Sydney in 2009. Based on the highly successful SSE program in the UK which has been operating for 10 years, the new Sydney school will provide Australian social entrepreneurs with invaluable learning and skills development opportunities as well as link them into a global community of inspirational social entrepreneurs.
The SSE Australia sees social entrepreneurs as people who recognise social problems and use entrepreneurial principles to organise, create, and manage a venture to affect social change.
The goal of SSE Australia is to assist social entrepreneurs in transforming their talent and drive into real social outcomes. Our programs will enable social entrepreneurs to establish effective, sustainable community projects and initiatives that meet social and community needs. We believe that by supporting social entrepreneurs as leaders in their communities, the community itself gains pride and belief in itself and, from that, new leaders are inspired.
The SSE Australia is a new venture that is proudly supported by Social Ventures Australia, the School for Social Entrepreneurs UK, and Steve Lawrence (a social entrepreneur and Chief Executive of the Australian Social Innovation Exchange).
The SSE Australia Program
The SSE Australia program will be initially offered in Sydney as a 9-month tailored program (over 34 days) starting in early March 2009 and involves:
· 16 weekly study sessions including a 3-day residential covering topics such as business planning, fundraising, legal information, and managing money.
· 6 Action learning sets: in-depth sessions of peer review and problem solving
· 6 one-to-one tutorials: for detailed project planning and review
· 4 mentoring sessions: each participant is given a mentor with whom strategies, plans and approaches can be further informed by external knowledge and experience
· 6 project visits: first-hand insights into the work of successful social entrepreneurs in their environment
Unlike traditional educational and training programs, the SSE program is about learning and reflection. Our focus is on ‘action learning’ or ‘learning by doing’ as it recognises that entrepreneurial people learn information as it becomes most relevant. It enables participants to shape their learning and develop the specific skills needed to grow their own social venture.
The SSE Australia recruits individuals who can demonstrate entrepreneurial talent and have a passion for social change. They may be running an existing project that needs support or be at the early stages of wanting to set up an organisation or business to benefit their community.
As a key aspect of the program is harnessing diversity, fellows may range in age from 20-75 and be serving a wide range of communities and issues. No formal qualifications are required.
The Sydney School will recruit 15-20 applicants for the 2009 program. Applications close at the end of January and interviews will take place in early February 2009.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you are interested in applying to the program and we would be happy to talk with you about your interest and suitability for the program. Please send enquiries to courtney@sse.org.au.
SSE Australia seeks to ensure that fees present no barriers to participation and works to involve disadvantaged people in its learning program.
The full cost of the year-long program for each student is $22,500. However, SSE Australia will work with each participant to ensure the program is affordable and will offer full and partial bursaries where appropriate.
A student fee of $1,200 will also apply to all participants.
Location
Although the venue for the Sydney School is still to be confirmed, it will be located in a major public transport hub.
Key Dates
The Sydney program will start in early March with weekly study sessions to be held every Wednesday for 23 weeks. The 3-day residential is to set for August 2009. The program will break during NSW school holidays and finish in late November 2009.
Get Involved
SSE Australia invites not only potential applicants to contact us but any individuals or organisations interested in:
· Working as strategic partners with SSE Australia in the delivery the School’s program or advocating for issues such as social inclusion, social entrepreneurialism and social enterprise
· Funding bursaries for SSE Australia students (from $22,500 per student for one-year)
· Providing pro-bono support as a mentor, tutor, and/or expert witness with specialist skills such as such as fundraising, law, marketing, business planning, and managing money.
· Telling your story of social entrepreneurship to our program participants
· Attending SSE Australia events
To join our email list for regular updates on SSE Australia activities and events send us an email with “subscribe” as the subject heading to info@sse.org.au. To unsubscribe, send an email with unsubscribe” in the heading.
Contact
School for Social Entrepreneurs
c/o Social Ventures Australia
Suite 1 Level 6
6 – 10 O’Connell Street
Sydney NSW 2000
