Each month, Wharton Social Impact Initiative brings you an update on student activities, events and opportunities at the University of Pennsylvania. These lectures, info sessions, and workshops are just a sampling of the broad range of social impact opportunities available as part of the student experience.
This week we share a few upcoming events and lectures, and opportunities for current Penn students. View previous roundups in our archives.
Events
Public Policy Lecture: Reed Hundt
November 18, 4:30-5:30 p.m., SHDH 1206: Penn Public Policy Initiative presents a lecture by Reed Hundt, who will discuss lessons in policy entrepreneurship drawn from the Obama presidency and technology adventures.
Hundt was a former FCC Chairman and an advisor to Barack Obama on technology and communications issues during the Obama Presidential campaign; he also served on the Obama transition team. He is currently the CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital and PPI’s 2014 Fellow in Technology Policy.
All students are welcome to attend, but please RSVP online.
Wharton Business Plan Competition: Info Session
November 18, 4:30-5:30, and December 1, noon-1 p.m., JMHH 270: The Wharton Business Plan Competition invites Penn students to work with friends, classmates, or colleagues to start your venture and win cash prizes.
Over the course of five months, participants receive mentorship and feedback from experienced entrepreneurs and renowned venture capitalists. Whether you have a team already, are looking for a team, or plan to go solo, the Business Plan Competition is a great way to develop a business.
Join the BPC Student Management Committee and Wharton Entrepreneurship at one of two info sessions, to learn more about how to get involved and be in the running for over $125K in prizes, including a $10,000 social impact prize! Food will be provided.
Can’t attend a session? View the slides online.
Corporate Social Responsibility Workshop
November 18, 7-8:30 p.m., JMHH G86: MUSE, Penn’s undergraduate student-run marketing organization, will host an informative workshop seminar with legal studies and business ethics Professor Philip Nichols. Through a discussion-based format, Professor Nichols will lead students through several examples of corporate social responsibilities efforts to better demonstrate CSR’s applicability in business, and the social impact those efforts can have. The session is open to all students..
Impactful Wednesday: The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
November 19, noon-1:30 p.m., JMHH G50: The Wharton Social Impact Club is hosting an Impactful Wednesday lunch-and-learn session this week with Jane Golden, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.
The Mural Arts Program began as an anti-graffiti mural program in Philadelphia in 1986. Today, the program is currently one of Philadelphia’s largest employers of artists, employing over 300 artists a year. The Mural Arts Program also hires prosecuted graffiti vandals and serves more than 300 children a year. The mission is to create art with others to transform places, individuals, communities and institutions.
The session is open to MBAs. Sign up online to attend.
International Internships in Public Interest Panel
November 19, 5 -6:30 pm, Civic House Living Room: Been bitten by the travel bug and committed to public good? Hear from current students who successfully combined these two interests through international internships last summer. Learn how they found them, when they applied and what advice they have to offer.
Confirmed panelists include: Harikrishnan Joy, W’16, Child and Youth Finance International, Netherlands; Fayaaz Khatri, W’15, Tashirat Orphanage, Mexico; Emily Derecktor, C’16, Partners in Health, Boston, MA/Haiti; Leah Davidson, W’16, Expand Peru,Peru; and Mara Zafiu, C’17, College of Arts & Sciences, Blue Sparrow, Peru.
Opportunities
WSII office is pleased welcome Bill Clark, W’74, as a visiting social impact practitioner this semester. Clark, previously the president and executive direction of Philabundance, is available to meet and consult with students on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-4 p.m. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment. To sign up for office hours, make a request through our online form or email clarkw@wharton.upenn.edu.
Penn News recently profiled undergraduate Afnaan Moharram, a dual-degree student through the Huntsman Program and the School of Arts &Sciences. Afnaan discussed her passion for for-profit work paired with social change, her work with the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and her future after graduation.
Professor Keith Weigelt and Building Bridges to Wealth recently partnered with the Strawberry Mansion Learning Center to provide mentorship and curriculum development to microentrepreneurs in Philadelphia. The focus of this initiative is community economic development, specifically through the use of enabling technologies like computer programs and e-gaming. In the associated course, MGMT 353, you will learn how to teach, interact with the community, and manage and evaluate a growing educational program. The course is open to Penn undergraduates of all schools and years, and fulfills requirements for the Management concentration; fill out this Google Form by December 1 to be permitted into the course for next semester.
To submit social impact-related events, news, or opportunities, contact WSII Manager of Communications Allie Harcharek. Information must be submitted at least two weeks prior to event date, and include a date, time, location and contact information.