By Kelly Heng, President of Tsinghua NetImpact Club

Tsinghua MBA Net Impact Chapter organized a Forum on Social Responsibility and Social Enterprises on 24^th April 2012. Around 40 attendees comprising students and guest speakers gathered to discuss interesting topics related to the role of young leaders in social responsibility, and social innovation to address social change.

The panel of speakers came from a variety of backgrounds including private and civic sector. Amongst the guest speakers was a research consultant whose firm (China Youthology) plays a social enterprise role by specializing in providing deep insights into issues faced by the youth in China and helps to raise awareness of needs of the youth. Practitioners from the civic sector in the fields of rural education, consulting for non-profit organizations, youth collaboration and microfinance (1kg.com, iJoin, Youthink Center, YouChange Purong) shared with students about their respective organizational models and practical management experiences.

A lively and interactive discussion raised questions such as challenges faced by social enterprises, ways to motivate members of social enterprises, and opportunities and roles for MBA students in the civic sector.  The forum offered an opportunity for students to learn about a variety of social enterprise models and engaged their interest in social responsibility and social innovation.

Tsinghua MBA Net Impact is the first Mainland China student chapter under the global Net Impact organization. We strive to develop top leaders who seek to improve the world and society through business, and we facilitate interaction of ideas and projects in corporate social responsibility, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.