Changemakers in Circular Economy & Sustainability

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Changemakers in Circular Economy and Sustainability

Spring Semester 2025 - 3 ECTS

Start your journey now!

This course is designed to empower you with the knowledge, mindset, and competencies to become a changemaker, driving societal impact through sustainable entrepreneurship. By fostering creativity and innovation, you will be inspired to explore and develop venture ideas that contribute to the circular economy and sustainability. Whether your aspirations lie in startups, industry, or academia, this course equips you with the essential skills to thrive in your chosen path.

Through diverse, hands-on learning experiences, including team projects and practical applications, you’ll gain the tools to create meaningful change, tackle real-world challenges, and seize future opportunities. Join us and unlock your potential to shape a better, more sustainable world.

Learning outcomes

Develop a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurship and essential concepts, embracing an entrepreneurial mindset and demonstrating how creativity, innovation, and risk-taking drive change and informed decision-making in diverse contexts, with a particular emphasis on fostering sustainability and advancing circular economy principles.

Navigate the early stages of business creation with competence, from ideation to crafting a viable concept grounded in modern methods, while embedding sustainable practices and leveraging circular economy opportunities.

Exhibit foundational entrepreneurial competencies, including effective leadership, teamwork, strategic decision-making, and problem-solving skills, tailored to address the unique challenges of launching and managing ventures that aim to generate meaningful societal and environmental impact.

Cultivate a passion for driving societal change and refine your venture ideas with a focus on sustainability and innovations in the circular economy.

Gain hands-on experience to prepare for future challenges by applying theoretical insights to team projects based on real-world scenarios, fostering practical understanding and skills.

Commit to ongoing personal and professional growth by actively enhancing your entrepreneurial capabilities, engaging in reflective practices, and demonstrating adaptability to thrive in the dynamic, sustainability-focused landscape of modern entrepreneurship.

Course Structure

Startup Weekend Circular Economy
Participate in immersive experiences designed to simulate real-world challenges and promote active, hands-on learning.
Weekly lectures by Experts: Benefit from insights shared by professionals, enhancing your understanding of sustainable entrepreneurship.
Introduction to Core Concepts: Explore key frameworks and real-world case studies that provide the tools and insights to advance your entrepreneurial journey.
Collaborative Teamwork: Engage with peers to address practical business challenges, building teamwork and creative problem-solving skills.
Presentations and Feedback: Present your team's progress and gain valuable insights through peer evaluations, fostering continuous improvement.

Tuesday 18th of March - 16h30-18h30

Overview of the course and objectives

Introduction to concept of Changemakers

Overview of different ways of entrepreneurship

Developing entrepreneurial thinking and competences
Friday 28th of March 16h00 - Sunday 30th of March 18h00

Learn how to think, work and build a venture in 54 hours

Startup Weekend is a 3-day ideathon where groups of changemakers pitch their ideas, experience startup life and build new ventures
Tuesday 08th of April - 16h30-19h30

Inner Development Goals

Team formation after Startup Weekend.

Self-awareness; persona, strengths
Tuesday 15th of April - 16h30-19h30

Theory of Change, Societal Change, Change management

Customer insights & Value proposition

Market research

Tuesday 29th of April - 16h30-19h30

Culture of testing

Create and test low-fidelity prototypes with real users. Document findings to guide further iterations.

Minimum Viable Product

Excursion: Offcut
Tuesday 06th of May - 16h30-19h30

Explore sustainable business models and their social impact (review BMC)

Securing funding

Fundamental financial principles for new ventures
Tuesday 13th of May - 16h30-19h30

Digital marketing

AI & examples

Strategies, building your funnel
Thursday 22th of May - 16h30-19h30

Presenting final business ideas

Peer evaluation and feedback

Reflecting on personal development and learning

Spring 2025 Schedule

The number of participants is limited to 30 per course. Interested students should email Sophie Schumacher (Sophie.schumacher@unibas.ch) before February 28, 2025.

Please include:
1.       your name, study major, number of completed semesters, and matriculation number,
2.       your knowledge/background in entrepreneurship,
3.       a short motivation statement explaining why you are interested in participating,
4.       and if you have a business idea, give us a short description.
5.       Please check if ECTS from this course will be accepted by your faculty.
6.       We will select participants and confirm 30 participants on March 5, 2025. After confirmation email, you can enroll through the Online Services (services.unibas.ch).

Eucor-Students and mobility students of other Swiss Universities or the FHNW first have to register at the University of Basel BEFORE the start of the course and receive their login data by post (e-mail address of the University of Basel). Processing time up to a week! Detailed information can be found here: https://www.unibas.ch/de/Studium/Mobilitaet.html. After successful registration, you can enroll for the course in the Online Services (services.unibas.ch).