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Professor Teresa Chahine’s Online Social Entrepreneurship Course Takes an Interactive Turn

The Coursera version of the popular Yale SOM course on social entrepreneurship has created an online community of learners looking to make a difference.

Teresa Chahine: The Social Entrepreneur’s Guide to Making Change

Shortly after her social entrepreneurship course launched on the online learning platform Coursera in December 2023, Professor Teresa Chahine began receiving unexpected messages from course participants around the world via email and social media.

The course, which is based on a class she teaches at SOM, shows students how to identify and define a social problem and then build a solution—whether through launching a venture, getting involved in volunteering and activism, or working within an existing organization.

“Thanks for making such invaluable material available to others without charge,” wrote a participant from India. A participant from Russia wrote, “I’ve just finished your course in search of insights for my career development.” A participant in Silicon Valley asked to discuss the learnings in the course further.

As Chahine connected with more participants, she realized what she really wanted was for them to connect with each other. She began organizing “community calls” where the “learners,” as the Coursera platform refers to participants, could meet online as a group and get to know each other.

“A couple dozen learners came to the first call, and it was so inspiring to meet them,” Chahine said. “It’s such a diverse group.” The learners have included the former mayor of a Colorado city, a nurse in Michigan, a software professional in France, a church leader in Arizona, a nonprofit founder in South Africa, a McDonald’s restaurant worker, and an undergraduate student from Hawaii.

“There are so many different ages and professions,” Chahine said. “But the thing they all have in common is that they want to make a difference in the world through social innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The goal of the Coursera course, which Chahine launched with the help of the Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, was to make the tools of social innovation entrepreneurship widely available, and free, to anyone interested. The response has been encouraging.

“This was our pilot year,” Chahine said, “and the course took off.” As of this month, nearly 5,000 learners had signed up for the course, with more than 900 having already completed it. “That’s an almost 20% completion rate,” Chahine said, noting that most massive open online courses—MOOCs, as they are known—have a completely rate closer to 5-10%.

Chahine’s course includes 11 modules, teaching participants through videos, text, and quizzes how to identify a challenge, design a solution, and create or join an organization to implement it. The course follows the 10-stage framework of social entrepreneurship in Chahine’s book Social Entrepreneurship: Building Impact Step by Step.

After the success of the learners’ first Zoom meeting, Chahine held a second session, during which participants shared their entrepreneurial ideas and received feedback. Recently, they gathered again for an end-of-year celebration that included startup pitches.

Chahine is hoping the learners will continue to come together and create an ongoing supportive community. “I didn’t set out to make this course interactive,” she said. “It’s rare for a Coursera course, but people are hungry for community today.”

People are also eager to make an impact, Chahine said. “The vibe of the course is that it allows you to participate in social change,” she said. “There are so many serious challenges we’re facing. Having a sense of agency helps you not feel paralyzed in the face of it all.”