Explore entrepreneurship in a Social Innovation Startup Lab course this spring

SISL

The Social Innovation Startup Lab, or SISL, hosted by the technological entrepreneurship and management program, is an incubator-style, 12-week crash course for social entrepreneurship ventures aiming at social impact. This course allows students to collaborate with industry and explores the use of technology in projects that have the potential to benefit society. Teams may partner with Intel and NXP Semiconductors during their time in SISL.

During the semester, SISL runs 12 labs with industry experts, professionals, faculty and mentors that will advance your social or sustainable startup or community project. At the end of the course, the final pitch presentations compete for eSeed grant Social Impact Challenge Funding from Tom Prescott Student Venture Fund.

In Spring 2023, SISL is offering two courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Sign up for a course according to the scope and desired outcome of your venture development.

TEM 450 Design for Developing World [Designing for Social Innovation] + TEM 498 Capstone Project
Fridays, January 13–April 28, 2023
8:30 a.m.–noon
Polytechnic campus

This course is focused on tangible products for social and sustainable needs. Ventures focus on B2C models, such as design for extreme affordability, prosthetics, personal mobility, child safety and more. There are opportunities to advance the business model by applying design thinking; empathy; user experience; MVP and prototyping (at the Innovation Hub located at The Polytechnic campus); lean startup and customer discovery; and design for manufacturability. Discussions surround technology for social good. Students are empowered to advance work on their own venture or work on a problem-solution challenge that a non-profit faces.

TEM 598 Systemic Design and Social Innovation + TEM 494
Thursdays, January 12–April 27, 2023
9:30 a.m.–noon
Novus Innovation Corridor, Tempe campus

This course focuses on intangible products/services, informational and platform-based business models and software-as-a-service (SaaS). Discussions surround social and sustainable complex and systemic issues. Ventures focus on B2B public/private models at the national and international levels including complex stakeholder networks of policymakers, NGOs and private enterprises. It applies systemic thinking and design thinking for social innovation. Students will delve into ecosystem reframing, lean startup, and user experience. Other topics of discussion will include ethics of technology and human-technology interaction.

For more information on SISL, view this presentation.

Pass this information to your colleagues from any major or program. Bring your team or join one in the class, work on your venture or join a project. Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in one of these courses!

If you have questions or need advice on which course to take, please reach out to Lecturer Andrea Cherman at [email protected].