The network event being held on 17 & 18 April is primarily designed to pinpoint the training needs of social entrepreneurs. "There'll be seven social entrepreneurs from each country and they'll be looking at their needs and how they've been operating to date," explained junior researcher Mervi Raudsaar. "So far most incubators have been based in cities, but social entrepreneurship is often found in rural areas, too, at the community level, where the incubation services are somewhat different. That's why it's the people involved who are best able to outline their needs."
A workshop will be held on 18 April to which lecturers in entrepreneurship from different levels of the education system have been invited to discuss how the subject should be treated in studies.
A total of around 20 social entrepreneurship researchers from the Nordic countries and the University of Tartu are expected to attend the event, with the network's Latvian colleagues being represented for the first time.
The University of Tartu has been a member of SERNOC since 2011. Its lead partner is Roskilde University, with other members including a further 30 universities in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. The network aims to develop social entrepreneurship at the level of research, linking all social sectors and becoming the leading centre of excellence in the field in Northern Europe.
The seminars are being organised by the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and the Centre for Entrepreneurship of the University of Tartu and their organisation supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers research institute NordForsk.
Press release by University of Tartu. Find out more here.