“My biggest takeaway: developing the intellectual curiosity to connect scholarly rigour with real-world challenges and create knowledge that matters.”
What to expect
This seminar offers a broad introduction to the foundational theories, core concepts, and research approaches in social entrepreneurship. Through guided discussions, critical readings, and peer feedback, you will strengthen your analytical and writing skills while engaging with key debates, methods, and frameworks in the field.
24
Editions
since 2010
since 2010
18
Global
locations
locations
200+
Participants
20
Countries
represented
represented
Our faculty
Dr. Sophie Bacq
Lead Professor, Social Entrepreneurship Doctoral Seminar
As a globally recognized thought leader on social entrepreneurship and change, Sophie looks at how collective entrepreneurial action can solve intractable social and environmental problems. Her scholarship has been recognized with numerous awards. Most recently, she was named on the 2024 Thinkers50 Radar list of up-and-coming management thinkers, the 2026 Sustainable Shapers, and among the top 2% of scientists worldwide by Stanford University, 2024 & 2025. She serves as co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Business Venturing and co-Director of the Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference.
Dr. Elsa Alt
Co-teacher SE Doctoral Seminar
Elsa co-teaches and supports the development of the Social Entrepreneurship Doctoral Seminar. Elisa's research focuses on social entrepreneurship, social intrapreneurship, and the role of emotions in entrepreneurial action. She investigates how individuals and organizations create social value while navigating complex institutional environments. Her work has been published in leading journals including the Journal of Management Studies and Organization Studies.
Former Seminar Panelists
Leading scholars who have contributed to the doctoral seminar community
Julie Battilana
Harvard University
David Gras
University of Tennessee
Jeffery McMullen
Indiana University
Ute Stephan
King's College London
Lowell Busenitz
University of Oklahoma
Jessica Jones
University of Tennessee
Todd Moss
University of Oklahoma
David Townsend
Virginia Tech
Justin Craig
Bond University
Rachida Justo
IE Business School
Pablo Muñoz
Durham University
Paul Tracey
University of Cambridge
Tina Dacin
Queen's University
Geoffrey Kistruck
York University
Scott Newbert
Baruch College
Justin Webb
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Tom Dean
Colorado State University
Gorgi Krlev
ESCP Paris
Ana Maria Peredo
University of Ottawa
Trent Williams
Brigham Young University
Andreana Drencheva
King's College London
Matt Lee
Harvard University
Jill Purdy
University of Washington Tacoma
Jeff York
University of Colorado Boulder
Steffen Farny
Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Gideon Markman
Colorado State University
Maija Renko
Aalto University
What our alumni say
“As a doctoral student, I see the workshop as an important stepping stone in my academic journey.”
“It encouraged me to deepen my engagement with systems thinking when talking about social entrepreneurship.”
“I never thought it was possible to go into the depths of 50 articles in a single week. Somehow, Sophie made it not only possible but also enjoyable and memorable.”
“The SESAW seminar brought me into close contact with researchers working at different levels of analysis and using a wide range of methodological approaches.”
“Staying in touch with the people I met through the seminar and reconnecting with them at conferences has been one of the most valuable aspects of the experience.”
“SESAW has built a rare environment that is at once intellectually ambitious, developmental, and genuinely supportive.”
“From the seminar I discovered a way of working with the literature that made me progress a lot.”
“The seminar raised the level I hold myself to as a scholar.”
“As a doctoral student, this seminar gifted me a valuable cohort of peers, a strong connection to senior scholar mentors, and a deep understanding of social entrepreneurship's history and potential future in academia.”
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