Ngee Ann Polytechnic plugs gap with new diploma course in business and social enterprise

Lin Yanqin, Today Online 6 Dec 07

They have the passion to run a sustainable business, but not the skills. They also lack support. These were some of the problems confronting social enterprises that a committee recently identified — and now, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) will take a step towards addressing these issues.

Its School of Humanities is offering a new diploma in business and social enterprise. For its first intake next year, the school plans to take in 40 students for the three-year programme, which will cover a mix of business and social enterprise modules from the principles of accounting to non-profit organisation management. Just as importantly, students will also be mentored by local and foreign social entrepreneurs and gain hands-on experience by working on social projects.

In their final year, students will be attached to private and public-sector organisations to work on a social enterprise project, either locally or overseas.

Said industry practitioner Alfie Othman, a member of the Social Enterprise Committee: "It's good that a specialised course is being offered and not something that's just part of a bigger course."

Mr Othman, the managing director of Ikhlas Holdings, a catering company that hires ex-offenders and single mothers, added: "This course and the infrastructure recommended by the committee will encourage people to commit to and take a shot at the industry."

On the other hand, while teaching the basics of running a business "would be helpful", the passion and creativity that social entrepreneurship needs is not something to be taught in the classroom, said Lien Foundation Centre for Social Innovation centre director Carolyn Seah.

Its report last week on social enterprise recommended that more courses be launched at the tertiary level to teach the application of business skills in a non-profit sector. "We can create all the infrastructure and support, but that's just half the component. You still need the heart component, which can't be taught," said Ms Seah.

NP's School of Humanities director Choo Cheh Hoon, underlining the "growth potential" of the sector, said the course could help make the sector more "robust" and equip students with a social heart with the right business skills.

A possible partner in the mentorship scheme is the Schwab Foundation for Social Enterprise, which also helps to find internships worldwide. The school will hold its annual open house next month.