The mission of the Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative (IEI) is to promote a shift in the practice of organizational formation and collaboration from extractive to generative values. We believe in advancing democratic principles and mutual and equitable relations as a university-wide initiative. Together we develop entrepreneurial skills and ways to employ inclusive design approaches to bring about innovation in the world. By challenging the status quo, we center our efforts on strengthening relationships with one another and our communities, aiming to see and design with respect, care, and concern.
The pandemic, climate catastrophes, and systemic inequality, including anti-Black racism, have disrupted society and damaged social cohesion. We embrace multiple perspectives on microeconomic and macroeconomic development and invite students to create a world made up of many worlds. We take the opportunity to reimagine how we work; how we engage in commerce; how we collaborate across the public, private, nonprofit, and emerging sectors; and how we design new ecosystems for transformation.
Known as one of the most international universities in the United States, The New School has students from all corners of the world. Our New York City location offers an opportunity to build connections and relationships with community partners and strengthen their local and global networks. Our aim is to nurture students who are invested in facilitating the co-creation of new inclusive economic models to advance social and racial justice, with a shared commitment to respecting the dignity and agency of all people we encounter in our learning journey. IEI welcomes students who embrace a generous and generative vision for shared prosperity and a fervent desire to counter enduring oppressive systemic structures.
Curriculum
Students enrolled in any graduate degree program at The New School have the opportunity to participate in our signature IEI courses or complete a graduate minor in Impact Entrepreneurship.
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Graduate Fellowship
The Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative Fellowship seeks students who have demonstrated a capacity and willingness to design with and not for community. We seek students who are engaged with communities that have historically been excluded from traditional start-up ecosystems. To this end, IEI seeks applicants who exhibit a desire to learn deeply about the systemic issues faced by the communities they intend to support, and create relationships and structures to improve the way we interact with intractable and complex systems.
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Ecosystem Partners
The New School’s New York City location offers a rare opportunity to experience and build connections and relationships with partner organizations, frontline community partners, and ecosystem funders that share a sense of urgency and a desire to look broadly and deeply to cultivate the development of entrepreneurial skills, bold visions, and inclusive design approaches to actualize innovation in the world.
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Students & Alumni
Meet some of the current students and recent alumni involved in the Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative and gain insight into their inspiring entrepreneurial-focused work.
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Resources
Visit our blog for our guide to help students and alumni take their ideas for social innovation to the next level.
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