Social i-Teams

Social i-Teams can work with any type of technology, innovation or product concept, at any stage of development. The common theme is simply that the focus is on societal benefit and social enterprise methodologies. Social i-Teams will investigate the best market approach for developing the innovation, and asks the key questions of whether it addresses a real market need, and whether there is a route to funding.

Multi-disciplinary teams of 7 work together to identify the potential for their project, and contact relevant industry experts to gather their feedback on the project and how it might be used. The final results are presented to an audience drawn from the university and the local business community.

Participants gain the hands-on experience and satisfaction of “learning by doing”, working on a real project where their ideas and conclusions will influence future directions and outcomes. Skills and experience gained include:

• Working in a multi-disciplinary team with participants from other university departments
• Multiple discussions & interviews with members of the Cambridge, UK and global entrepreneurial ecosystems
• Teamworking & team management
• Brainstorming
• Identify the key benefits of a technology or product innovation
• Identify relevant competitors and potential collaborators Identify and contact relevant industry experts
• Use and develop your own network of contacts
• Cold calling and extracting useful information from commercial contacts
• Application of Human-Centred Design and Design Thinking methodologies to social enterprise projects
• Analyse incomplete data from a variety of sources to draw a justifiable conclusion
• Presentation skills (for a non-expert audience)

The syllabus includes lectures from social enterprise experts and experienced entrepreneurs on the practicalities of creating genuine and sustainable societal impact.