Arizona State University is Changemaker Central

Changemaker Central ASU
Source: Changemaker Central ASU

No one ever said taking your venture from the white board to the global marketplace was easy. For a college student dreaming of entrepreneurship, the prospect might seem daunting.

That’s exactly why Ashoka U partnered with Arizona State University (ASU) to build Changemaker Central. It's a hub where students share entrepreneurial resources with one another and launch ventures together.

The current crop of ASU college students grew up on globalism; they know how economics in Calcutta can impact politics in Mexico City, and they care about shaping a rapidly-changing world. The ASU academic community has worked to channel the student body’s desire for global betterment into productive forms of social entrepreneurship. They’re cultivating a culture of change along the way.

In a recent article, "Doing Well by Doing Good: Social Entrepreneurship Soars at ASU," Amy Roach Partridge details the university’s approach to social entrepreneurship. “Today, simply building a successful company is not enough for many budding entrepreneurs,” she explains. “They want to start a venture that also makes a difference. For these so-called ‘social entrepreneurs,’ business is about meeting both a market need and a personal need to improve society in some way.”

The ASU College of Technology and Innovation offers a 20-unit concentration on social entrepreneurship, for example, and students from over 170 disciplines have already enrolled in entrepreneurship classes from baccalaureate to doctoral levels of study. They tackle complex social issues with creative, transdisciplinary solutions.

Read the full article in ASU Magazine.