Our Model.
WE TEACH PASSIONATE STUDENTS TO EMBRACE AN ENTREPRENEURIAL AND VALUES-ORIENTED MINDSET, WHICH HELPS THEM TACKLE ANY PROBLEM HEADFIRST.
Throughout the curriculum, we weave together self-expression and storytelling, empathy, collaboration, adaptation, and problem solving. We help the fellows cultivate this mindset through four teaching methods:
The N+1 Model.
SI360’s proven N+1 mentoring model is unique in social entrepreneurship training and effective — motivation to learn comes from students who are only one step ahead of you.
Students are guided through the program by former SI360 students who have become mentors. Students who have excelled in the SI360 program can choose to go through a rigorous application process led by current mentors who have been through the program themselves and taught the courses. Current mentors then choose the youth leaders who will become the next class of mentors and lead the next class in instruction as upperclassmen.
Individuals naturally compare their opinions and abilities most closely to those whom they can easily identify. Unlike other social entrepreneurship programs, we have infused N+1 mentorship at each level of leadership in our community.
Grassroots, National Network.
SI360 is a grassroots, national network. In contrast to university-based social innovation and entrepreneurship departments, SI360 is a national network of young social entrepreneurs dedicated to social enterprise, creating solutions to social problems throughout their careers and changing the status quo. SI360 has than 1,000 alumni across the country dedicated to business for good.
Experiential Learning.
Experience alone does not drive learning; it comes from subsequent observation, reflection, and testing. Our fellows are put through intensive entrepreneurial training around a venture in line with their values. This venture could be a socially conscious for-profit company, a nonprofit, a branch of another organization, a social movement, or more. Through weekly modules, small groups, and one-on-one meetings between the fellows and mentors, there is ample opportunity for reflection, observation, and support throughout the venture creation process.
100% Youth-Lead.
At every level of SI360, our young leaders are creating strategy as well as implementing and executing on their ideas, similar to our programming. We empower young social entrepreneurs to create SI360, in addition to their own social ventures. We focus on creating peer communities that encourage collaboration and the work ethic necessary for the entrepreneurial process. We urge the fellows to identify knowledge gaps and proactively work on them together.
SI360 is convened by our National Council, an active, working student and alumni body that acts as a decision-maker and liaison between university chapters and headquarters. The National Council is tasked with making sure the SI360 network reflects the youth voice, and it is entirely staffed with youth, including current SI360 students, mentors, and alumni of the program. SI360’s Board of Directors has alumni representatives and a seat for the Chair of the National Council. Working alongside our Board of Directors at SI360, the young people SI360 serves are truly at the top of our leadership structure.
Differentiated, Values-based Instruction.
No two people are motivated by the same set of experiences. Personal growth, a crucial part of the SI360 experience, can only be achieved by a differentiated approach to instruction. Intimate, long-term conversations and relationships help fellows recognize their values, along with their personal strengths and weaknesses, so they can develop a plan for their future.
On a larger scale, SI360 pulls from the structures of a traditional university to create a unique education experience for the fellows. SI360 students sign up for values-based teaching, including a focus on the importance of ethics, and agree to live up to the SI360 values, including participate proactively, commit unreasonably, live consciously, and think adventurously.