We are having our third event this term at the usual time 6pm !SIX PM! this Thursday the 1st at Kings College, Keynes Seminar Room 1.
This week we are lucky enough to have Shaylesh Patel CEO of Healthy Planet, Winner of RBS’s 2011 Trailblazing Newcomer Award.
Healthy Planet has grown by over 1000% (yes one thousand) this year alone, (check out their website for more detailshttp://healthyplanet.org/).
What do we do?
The Think Tank seeks to harness the skills and experiences of students from all disciplines and backgrounds to identify social problems and then work together to develop business solutions. We hope that the diversity of our members will allow the group to look at these social challenges creatively and provide robust analyses and resolutions to the problem we face.
We offer the opportunity to contribute and make a difference by giving creative, motivated and passionate individuals a platform upon which they can work as a group to identify, create and even improve existing social enterprises by sharing ideas and researching problems together.
What’s the plan for 2012/2013?
Why a Think Tank or an Enterprise?
The think tank model allows us to generate ideas as a group that we may not have come up with on our own.
Brilliant business ideas don’t just grow on trees and we know that conceiving of a commercial solution to a social issue is a tall order indeed. By being problem focussed we have an immediate framework for identifying possible business ideas and increasing our chances of creating a successful social enterprise.
In addition people who may not have formed a full business idea may have felt deterred or unable to get involved in social enterprise work. The think tank model gives people a platform to contribute by offering their ideas to existing businesses or business plan. Think of it as an opportunity to be a consultant, helping business which make a difference do it better.
Why an Enterprise?
The idea of creating a solution through an enterprise model means our proposals, if successful, can be independent, sustainable and a wealth and social value creator. It means that the idea can grow as far as it is itself socially beneficial. A successful Social enterprise is the true test of whether the idea is making a useful difference.
How Does it Work?
The Think Tank is run under two formats that alternate weekly.
First the Speaker Event where we hope to give you some insight and inspiration from a range of distinguished entrepreneurs who have created and run some of the most successful and influential social enterprises in the UK. These talks are followed by a Q&A session and a short group discussion or problem-solving workshop.
You will then have the opportunity to work on your area of interest by researching and discussing problems and solutions in small groups of four or five. Sharing your skills and experiences we hope you will be proactive in identifying social issues and be able to start forming ideas for new social enterprises. In addition there may be an opportunity to offer consultancy advice to real businesses or budding student entrepreneurs. We will setup a cloud system so that you can research and continue to share information outside of the events.
Groups who have identified a solvable social problem and generated interesting ideas or a business plan will be asked to present to the Think Tank.
We are currently working on ensuring that the most promising ideas are given exposure to leading business and political figures – Details to follow!
We hope to see you at our next event.
Full term card and event structure to follow.