January 27, 2022

Spring course uses social entrepreneurship to tackle population health challenges

The Population Health Initiative is partnering with the Honors Program and Evans School of Public Policy & Governance once again this spring to offer an undergraduate course, “Improving Population Health through Social Entrepreneurship.” This five-credit course will provide students with a fundamental understanding of social innovation and the role that social enterprises can play in addressing population health challenges.

The course will combine lectures, guest speakers, case studies and a team project, allowing students to learn how organizations can strike the balance between advancing work that has a positive societal impact and remaining financially sustainable. Topics covered in the course include the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals and population health challenges, new philanthropic models, impact investment funds and investor expectations in a changing landscape for social investment, scalability of social enterprises and the importance of policy.

A sizeable portion of the course will involve a team project, where students will learn to use entrepreneurial tools to develop innovative solutions to population health issues, such as climate change, affordable housing, food security and mental health.

The course, HONORS 232 B, will meet this spring quarter 2022 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:20 p.m. Pacific in Mary Gates Hall. Dr. Akhtar Badshah, an author, philanthropist and educator with more than 30 years of experience in corporate philanthropy and social entrepreneurship will be teaching this class for the second time.

Although this is an Honors course, the Population Health Initiative is offering add codes to non-Honors students on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested non-Honors students should contact the Population Health Initiative to receive an add code.