AshokaU and TechChange TwitterChat: How Will Technological Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship Transform Higher Education?

Have ideas for new models in higher education that use technology and social entrepreneurship? Interested in what universities will look like 10, 20 and 50 years in the future? Join TechChange and AshokaU on Friday July 22 from 1-2pm EST for a live Twitter chat on the impact of technology and social entrepreneurship on higher education.

Topic: How will technological innovation and social entrepreneurship transform higher education?

Background: Social entrepreneurship on university campuses isn’t just taught in the business school anymore. The concept of a business with a social return is now multidisciplinary in higher education, as demonstrated by last month’s $5 million grant from Dell to the University of Texas at Austin for…. The competition is not only open to students from all majors, but in 2008 they started allowing international entries and the school was inundated with 1,450 submissions last year. Winners have come from fields such as public health, education, engineering, and information technology. Tech companies like Open Action now map out campuses across the nation to help students and faculty hone in on who is involved in social innovation and increase collaboration. As the social entrepreneurship movement grows on campuses, it’s an exciting opportunity to co-host this discussion on tech innovation in higher education with AshokaU.

Questions we are particularly interested in:

1. How is technology currently being used to foster social innovation, improve collaboration and increase retention within universities? How have Ashoka fellows been able to utilize technology to bring about social change in higher education?
2. What are the most significant barriers preventing new technologies and innovations from being implemented in higher education? How do we engage more students from technical disciplines (comp science, engineering etc.) to get involved with social entrepreneurship?

Hashtag: #SocEntChat

Be sure to participate in the chat by logging on twitter on July 22nd between 1 and 2pm EST. Please remember: use the #SocEntChat hash tag, introduce yourself, stay on topic, be respectful and have fun. This discussion will be part of Ashoka’s monthly twitter chat, which are real-time conversations structured around a specific theme. As Ashoka notes, the conversation is designed for current and aspiring social entrepreneurs, policy makers, funders, media, and supporters to share their ideas, discuss the state of the field, identify the latest innovations, and pinpoint areas requiring more exploration. We also want to especially invite techies, developers, bloggers, and educators to join us.

Have a question but can’t attend the chat?

Mention @AshokaTweets and/or @TechChange before the chat with any questions you have or issues you are interested in exploring – or just comment right here on TechChange Blog. We’ll do our best to include this feedback in the chat.

Sample Tweet:

Join @AshokaTweets & @TechChange for a twitter chat on tech & SocEnt in higher ed (July 22nd 1-2pm) Use #SocEntChat (Link to this blog post)

Tweet you later!

The TechChange Team