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INTERVIEW

(Photo of SEÁN COUGHLAN)

THE INNOVATIVE POWER OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Social entrepreneurship is set to become a key driver in building the new Ireland - creatively, socially and economically. An innovative new partnership between Trinity College and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland is leading the way.

“Entrepreneurship has changed the face of Ireland in recent decades and the qualities that distinguish entrepreneurs, like the ability to innovate, to come up with new ideas and solutions, and being able to make things happen, are exactly what we need to continue the transformation.” This is the view of Trinity graduate, Seán Coughlan, Chief Executive of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland. “We now need to put our energies into developing ‘social entrepreneurs’, those entrepreneurs who use their talents towards building a better society rather than building commercial companies,” he adds.

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) aims to ignite social change by identifying, investing in, and supporting social entrepreneurs and the organisations they launch. SEI’s work is based on the belief that new and innovative solutions are needed to tackle the social and environmental challenges we face today, and these solutions will be most effective when driven by individuals who adopt a highly entrepreneurial approach.

Each year SEI selects, invests in, and supports a number of Irish social entrepreneurs who have the imagination, passion and talent to change their communities for the better.

Seán describes some of the exciting programmes they are supporting: “We have children with autism and Down Syndrome who had been assessed as non-verbal but are now speaking because of innovative speech therapy techniques developed by social entrepreneurs. We have people in communities throughout Africa now connecting through technology to educational resources because of the activities of an Irish social entrepreneur based in Dublin. We have a programme that is going to bring music education to under-resourced primary schools throughout the island of Ireland. Projects like these are making hugely significant and enormously positive differences to our community.”

“Engagement by universities is an essential means of developing the concept and supporting the practice of social entrepreneurship, strengthening the pipeline of social entrepreneurs and increasing their impact in society,” adds Coughlan.

SEI and the Centre for Nonprofit Management in Trinity College’s School of Business have embarked on an exciting new initiative designed to embed social entrepreneurship into the mainstream of business school teaching and research in Ireland.

“Trinity College has taken a significant leadership role within Ireland in this area and has really shown a great amount of imagination and innovative thinking,” Coughlan says. “We want to raise awareness within society about the concept of social entrepreneurship, we want more people getting involved in changing society and we want their efforts to be properly valued and supported. We believe the SEI / Trinity initiative will help make this happen.”


SEÁN COUGHLAN B.A. (1992)

Currently Chief Executive of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Seán has worked as a scientific researcher, teacher and a senior manager within the IT sector. As an entrepreneur, he has also spent time developing business opportunities in Turkey and Ireland. Seán has been actively involved in the not-for-profit sector for over fifteen years in both leadership and advisory capacities with a number of voluntary organisations. He holds a First Class Honours degree in Theoretical Physics from Trinity College Dublin.

Seán is the first recipient of the ‘The Captain Cathal Ryan Scholarship’, established by the Ryan family in memory of Cathal Ryan - the son of the late founder of Ryanair, Tony Ryan, and a great advocate of social entrepreneurship. The scholarship is designed to enable social entrepreneurs to engage in training and education to further enhance their skills and maximise the impact they can have.


For more information please contact:

Dr Gemma Donnelly-Cox,
Centre for Nonprofit Management
e. gdnnllyc@tcd.ie
www.socialentrepreuneurs.ie