The Department of Economics, in collabotation with AICCON, is pleased to announce the European Summer School on Social Economy (ESSE), whose third edition will take place at the Bertinoro (FC) Campus of the University of Bologna.
Social entrepreneurship refers to an activity whose primary purpose is to pursue social goals, produce goods and services in a highly entrepreneurial, innovative and efficient manner to generate benefits for society and citizens, use surpluses mainly to achieve social goals, and accomplish its mission through the way in which it involves workers, customers and stakeholders affected by its business activity. The prime objective of social entrepreneurship, therefore, is to generate and maximize social value while remaining economically profitable. Social entrepreneurship is perceived to be a source of new and innovative solutions to the persistent problems of society, as well as a mean to allow a better inclusion of workers and consumers. It is also acknowledged as a major producer or “laboratory” of social innovations, especially at local or community level. The pursued goal is what ultimately differentiates social entrepreneurship from traditional entrepreneurship. While traditional, for-profit enterprises are targeted mainly at profit maximization, social enterprises aim at finding a more efficient, effective, sustainable, and fair solution to tackle social problems. Social Entrepreneurship creates value for the whole society rather than for any single individual. The so-called social value can be the result of created benefits or costs reduction on behalf of society and all of its citizens. Social entrepreneurship is strictly connected with the concept of Social Economy. Social Economy identifies socio-economic institutions pursuing a non profit aim through actions guided by principles such as reciprocity and democracy. In a week of full-immersion, ESSE will bring together an interdisciplinary group of students and scholars engaged in an analysis of Social Economy organizations and institution and the interplay between economic activity and society, discussing the above-listed topics from different points of view and comparing them with European experiences. GENERAL OBJECTIVES ESSE intends to address the following topics: social innovation from the social economic perspective, social entrepreneurship and innovation, social innovation management, financial tools for social investments, and social innovation within the social enterprise framework. A presentation of case studies will assist in demonstrating how theory is put into practice from a more practical perspective. The school will be entirely held in English. TEACHING STAFF Leonardo Becchetti University of Tor Vergata, Rome (Italy) Carlo Borzaga University of Trento (Italy) Rafael Chaves University of Valencia (Spain) Simone Ferriani University of Bologna (Italy) Lars Hulgård University of Roskilde (Denmark) Benjamin Huybrechts University of Liège (Belgium) Geoff Mulgan Nesta (UK) Dennis R. Young Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia (USA) Stefano Zamagni University of Bologna (Italy) ADMISSION AND SCHOLARSHIPS The Summer School is aimed at students currently engaged in graduate studies as well as PhD students and researchers. Practitioners wishing to deepen their knowledge form a theoretical point of view are also welcome. The target number of participants is 30. A full Curriculum Vitae and an abstract of the candidate’s research project will be requested for the application. The admission fee is €650. The fee includes: programme participation, full board and accommodation in a double room, as well as a welcome cocktail. Scholarships will be available; students who wish to apply will be evaluated by the Scientific Board based on the academic merit and quality of their research project. For further information (inscription form, programm details…) please contact the School Office: or visit www.esse.unibo.it
