Official launch of the NUS Business School Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & Philantrophy

28 Aug 2009

The NUS Business School (BIZ) officially launched the NUS Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & Philantrophy (CSEP) on 28 August 2009. At the launch, the CSEP received a donation of $1.5 million from the Mrs Lee Choon Guan Trust Fund. This donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Singapore government.

Headed by Assoc Prof Albert Teo, the Centre aims to advance social entrepreneurship and philantrophy research and education. It also seeks to enhance the community development efforts of NUS' stakeholders which include staff, students and alumni.

Current research projects completed by the Centre include trends in philanthropy and how religiosity and social networks affect voluntarism. Since the Centre's inception around one year ago, some 100 final year BIZ students had the opportunity to complete their consulting practicum with social service organisations, social enterprises and co-operative societies.

CSEP also co-runs a Volunteer Service Management Programme with YMCA Singapore for managers, executives and volunteers of non-profit organizations in Singapore. Lecturers of the programme include BIZ faculty members and the Centre's facilitators are from the BIZ Alumni Association. The Centre also invest in community development, offering seed-funding and incubating web-based student projects which promote social entrepreneurship and philanthropic giving.

Said Dean of NUS BIZ, Prof Bernard Yeung: ""CSEP was established at the right time. In the face of globalisation, the world is particularly challenged with income disparity, poverty, food and water shortages, lack of access to healthcare and sanitation, marginalization of communities among many others. Many of these problems have been further exacerbated by the economic meltdown."

"NUS Business School wants, and needs, to be a part of these global efforts to address social problems. We want to exercise social responsibility and contribute back to the larger community. As an educational institution, our initiatives of this kind raise awareness among our students and help build their commitment to the human race," he noted.

Future areas where the Centre plans to conduct research include evaluating social enterprise performance, research on the antecedents and outcomes of employer-supported volunteer programs and corporate philantrophy. In addition, the Centre is working with student groups that are planning to go on community development expeditions to Vietnam and China. Going beyond offering assistance with infrastructural projects and conducting English classes, the student groups will also work with the host communities to develop potential social entrepreneurial projects.