Center for Social Innovation

How can MBA students make a significant difference in the world before they even graduate? Take a look at the new company called Farm to Cup, an impressive example of student entrepreneurism in action.

After learning that his hospital would be short ventilators in the event of an influenza pandemic, Matthew Callaghan sketched out concepts for a less expensive ventilator on a napkin at a lunchtime meeting with a fellow physician.

The Public Management Program is enhancing academics and experiential learning to prepare students for leadership roles in the 21st century.

Launched in 2009 as a 3-year pilot, the Social Innovation Fellowship has been extended another 3 years, and eligibility has been broadened to include mission-driven alumni addressing social or environmental change.

Citing more innovative sustainable design features than any other business school in the country, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal has named Knight Management Center winner of its 2010 Green Project of the Year, Private Award. The new home of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, scheduled for completion in spring 2011, is comprised of eight buildings around three quads.

A team of graduate students is charging forward with an idea to manufacture an affordable device for home dialysis that lessens the chance of patients developing internal infections. The project combines the ideas of team members from medicine, business and engineering.

The Stanford Graduate School of Business will host the April 29 conference, "Collaboration for the Greater Good: Social and Environmental Responsibility in the Global Supply Chain," presented by the Global Supply Chain Management Forum and the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, in partnership with AMR Research.

On January 9th, Stanford students launched the Social-M Challenge, the first-ever social-movement plan competition offering $15K in prizes. The objective of the Challenge is to inspire, encourage, and support participation in sustainability-themed behavior-change campaigns like the ones listed below. The Social-M movements are student-led, but individuals from beyond the campus community are welcome to join and participate in their favorites.

Doing more for less was the theme of the 2009 Cool Product Expo, an exhibition of innovative products and services.

Spring Break at the Business School used to mean golf on the Pacific Coast, skiing in the Sierra, or surfing in Hawaii. But today’s MBA students are more likely to devote that glorious 10-day hiatus to serious pursuits. Last spring found Stanford MBA students learning by example from social entrepreneurs in Brazil, gutting a house in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, and experimenting with prototype water distribution systems in rural Myanmar.