Social Entrepreneurship in Southampton

Students from different Bachelor programs at Arcada are participating in an Intensive Erasmus Program course about Social Entrepreneurship in Southampton, in England. During two weeks they will have the opportunity to listen to interesting social entrepreneurs with real life experience and knowledge in the business field. Follow them on their exciting trip here!

Hello,

Early on the 12.1.2014 we started our trip from Helsinki to Southampton. When we arrived in Southampton we found our hotel and then headed off to explore a bit of the city. First impressions were that there were quite a lot of shopping opportunities and that the city center is relatively small.

Our first day at the University we were warmly welcomed by the staff of Southampton Solent University and we also met all our course mates; an international mix of students from Lithuania, Austria, Spain and Finland. Unfortunately all British students were missing because of unfortunate timing of the course so that it clashed with their assessment week.  During the first day we got to know each other a little more through some introductory games including spaghetti and marshmallows. Later the students ventured out in the Southampton rainy evening to get better acquainted with the nightlife of the city.

The second day was dominated by extremely inspiring, talented presentations – real-life entrepreneurs who came to share their knowledge with us. They spoke about the concept of social entrepreneurship, what it means, how you create a value, how you define what that value is (monetary, social or something else) and how you give back something to the society. Things we learned: Do what you love, believe in your idea, be courageous, take small steps, use all the resources available and don’t just chase the money.

We are excited to see what more we will learn during this course, we are sure it’s going to be intense, interesting and inspiring! Stay tuned for more updates 🙂

Frida & Fredrica