An important component of the Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise graduate program is the summer practicum. You’ll spend the first two semesters of the program at the Colorado State University campus engaging in a rigorous academic curriculum in the College of Business. During this time, you’ll begin to develop and refine project ideas that will comprise the bulk of your summer semester interdisciplinary fieldwork.
Working in teams of three-to-five students, GSSE Enterprise Teams work on projects identified by many other organizations – domestic and international – including World Resources International, The Nature Conservancy and the Small Enterprise Assistance Fund. One of the first project partners for the GSSE program was CHF International. CHF, which now operates in 31 countries, provides services in housing microfinance, disaster relief, environmental management, infrastructure rehabilitation, economic development, civil society development and post-conflict response.
Project opportunities come from these partner companies and organizations, as well as others, and students also bring their own ideas. First-year coursework supports the development of the 10-week summer practicum where you’ll bring your knowledge to the field to turn ideas formed in the classroom to practical applications in the field. Because the summer practicum often takes place internationally, second language skills are an advantage.
The purpose of the Enterprise Team is to provide you with hands-on experience on how to use business models as a way to approach environmental, social, and health issues in a developing economy. Employers have emphasized to us the importance of this type of applied international project experience. In some cases, our project partners have indicated that they hope to recruit employees from these project teams.
Recent projects include:
• Wildlife friendly rice in Cambodia
• Increasing fuel efficiency of municipal vehicles in India
• Providing wheelchairs to the disabled in Southern Africa
• Developing and delivering clean technology including solar lights and radios in Peru
• Providing energy-efficient small engines for irrigation in developing countries
• Sustainable housing solutions in Yucatan, Mexico
Enterprise Teams - 2008 Projects
During the first semester of the Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise graduate program, you’ll form Enterprise Teams and identify a topic or situation your team would like to address. Your team will research the feasibility of different approaches, collect market research, and work with the sponsoring project partner mentor. During the spring semester, your Enterprise Team will begin to develop a detailed business plan Your team also will develop a project plan for the summer field work.
During the summer, you’ll go to the region where you plan to implement your enterprise to conduct field research, meet with stakeholders and officials, test prototypes, and spend time with potential customers, suppliers, and distributors.
Upon returning to Colorado State for your final semester, your Enterprise Team will finalize its project report, determine a funding approach, and present recommendations to your project partner.
GSSE Project Summaries for 2009
GSSE Project Summaries for 2008