StartingBloc

After attending the student convention, which was as awesome as World Business Dialogue, I have been thinking about the other such engagements that a university student like us can take advantage of which talks about the structural constraints and the possible solutions that prevail in the Development through Enterprise sector.

I hope that organizations or institutions or mere individuals working actively in various nations take a hint and initiate a BoP activity/ Development through enterprise initiative within their borders. It need not be a direct set up of an institution/organization but trying to promote the very idea by exploring different ways. Something that doesn’t restrict the selection criteria by giving privilege to an MBA over a fresh college graduate just because the former one has experience in business equity and venture capital. Something that hires, trains and retains a youth community into its operations and attaches youth to such opportunities at a much bigger scale.

In the list of such organizations, one that I think is brilliant is StartingBloc. StartingBloc educates, inspires and connects emerging leaders to drive social innovation across sectors. The Institute for Social Innovation, their leadership development program, exposes emerging leaders (“Fellows”) to new models for achieving social impact.

The Institute is a five-day transformational experience, where students and young professionals between the ages of 20 to 29 are provided with the knowledge, the inspiration and the network necessary to adapt socially innovative strategies into their careers. During the Institute, StartingBloc Fellows learn about corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, cross-sector partnerships and sustainability from thought leaders in the field of social innovation. The 2010 Boston and New York Institutes speaker lists included luminaries such as Dan Pallotta,Mindy Lubber, Andrew Zolli and Jonathan Greenblatt.

The curriculum for the Institute provides a fresh look at global issues and enables Fellows to innovatively affect change at all levels. Also, it affords them the opportunity to practice what they learn in a real world scenario. One of the highlights of the Institute is The Social Innovation Competition (SIC), which provides Fellows with real world consulting experience. During the Institute, Fellows work in diverse teams to address a real challenge facing a company. Winning teams of Fellows then have the opportunity to present their solutions to representatives from the partner organizations. Past partners of the StartingBloc Institute SIC have included companies such ZipCar, Starbucks & TerraCycle. Each year, the StartingBloc Institute for Social Innovation brings together around four hundred Fellows at three locations: Boston, New York and London. They plan to roll out their Los Angeles Institute in 2011.

The best part about the fellowship that I like is that it incubates people and leaders rather that incubating ventures or businesses which is the conventional trend. It is obvious that no one person can alone address the global issues, so it connects such individuals in a tightly-knit community that provides a platform for them to connect and share the resources even after the institute. Their peer-to-peer model and an incredible recruitment process selecting a diverse group brings under one roof a vast resources repository. Their goal is to make sure that you connect with other people in the SB community to find resources that you need while offering your skill set to others as well.

Who is a StartingBloc Fellow? StartingBloc Fellows are global trailblazers who have Proven leaders with strong academic credentials who have multi-sector experience in top firms. They are also risk-takers and pioneers – over 60% have started their own venture. They are diverse: 65% minorities, 55% women, and between them, they speak 53 languages and hail from over 50 countries. Lastly, StartingBloc Fellows are focused on action, change and market-driven approaches to solving social challenges.

How to become a StartingBloc Fellow? Application for the Institute Class of 2011 will open on September 15th, 2010. Following the application, you will be notified of your acceptance by the end of November. At that point, you become a candidate for the Fellowship – and when you complete the Institute successfully, you officially become a Fellow.

Following the institute, StartingBloc ensures that their Fellows have various opportunities to stay involved with the community and continue their education. BuildingBloc programs provide StartingBloc Fellows with the critical continuing education needed to effectively drive social innovation across sectors. StartingBloc partners with corporations, private individuals and organizations to implement these programs for the community.

The StartingBloc Fellowship is for life and comes with responsibilities and also privileges. StartingBloc Fellows receive perks such as personalized admissions counseling, waiver of application fees and scholarship opportunities at major graduate schools including Yale, Tufts, MIT, NYU and Carnegie-Mellon.

Do apply for the Fellowship if you want to be united by a common interest – a desire to do “good”, and to become leaders in a more responsible, sustainable, global economy.

This Fellowship doesn’t ask for specific criteria to get engaged in following change-the-world passion. It gives youth an option, a choice to make a dent in the world. A choice that is away from any constraints and merely depends on the individual’s passion to drive the change.

Full Disclosure: I am an accepted candidate for the StartingBloc Fellowship and will be attending the Boston Institute in 2011. So hope to see some of you there!

Note: This post was written by Pankaj Agarwal, student participant of the 13th World Business Dialogue.