American Councils (ACTR): Social Entrepreneurship - Community and Innovation in Central Asia

Turn your most creative ideas into action while making a lasting contribution to local communities in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, a bustling city on the modern Silk Road. In this dynamic, project-based program, you’ll learn about local community interests and aspirations and work with Central Asian peers to design impactful new products that address real-world challenges. Along the way, you’ll build valuable skills in business planning, product design, cross-cultural understanding, and leadership while developing lasting connections to your host community. Hosted by the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), this extraordinary program empowers students to design, create, and launch products that make meaningful contributions to the growth of local communities in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. While studying the concepts of social entrepreneurship and design thinking, participants work with local students in small teams to learn about daily life in Bishkek and to design new products that address specific community needs. Working in the AUCA Makerspace, students then create and refine actual prototypes of the product they’ve conceived, develop a sustainability plan for production and marketing, and create a business pitch to be delivered before local experts and potential investors. This program is ideal for students interested in such fields as business, community and urban development, economics, sociology, and entrepreneurship. In addition to rigorous semester academic coursework in Central Asian Studies, Design Thinking, and Social Entrepreneurship, it provides precisely the hands-on, professional experience most in demand by today’s employers, including problem-solving, leadership, communication, teamwork, and adaptability. A major emphasis of the program is community engagement: students must be prepared to actively participate in dialogue with local people to learn about their lives and challenges; to consider productive, sustainable strategies that strengthen their host community; and to think empathetically about people whose beliefs and perspectives reflect a history and culture unlike their own. Optional Russian or Kyrgyz language study is also provided as part of the program.