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Abstract: In this seminar, we will explore how social entrepreneurs target difficult and unjust social and environmental problems, discover the opportunities imbedded in such problems, and apply engineering, entrepreneurial and business strategies to create sustainable and scalable solutions. We will discover how social entrepreneurs are not necessarily interested in improving existing social systems nor in becoming social activists but are committed to creating and sustaining new systems. Special emphasis will be placed on case studies of engineering solutions to wicked problems and how ingenuity, inspiration, creativity and innovation are combined to produce permanent benefits to targeted groups and society at large.
Bio: Martín Burt is a world-renowned social entrepreneur who has developed various antipoverty and educational social innovations that are currently being implemented in five continents. He is the founder (1985) and CEO of Fundaci6n Paraguaya, a social enterprise named Latin America's most impactful and innovative development organization by the Inter-American Development Bank. Burt is currently a member of the board of directors of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum, the Bertoni Nature Conservancy Foundation and Teach A Man to Fish. In public service, he has served as chief of staff to the president of Paraguay, was elected mayor of Asuncion, and was appointed vice minister of commerce. Burt has written books on economics, development, municipal government, poetry and education. His latest book, "Who Owns Poverty?" was published in September 2019. He has received awards from organizations including Avina Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Schwab Foundation, Synergos, Eisenhower Fellowship, Inter-American Development Bank, World Innovation Summit for Education and Nestle. He holds a doctorate from Tulane University and is a visiting professor of social entrepreneurship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Distinguished Visiting Professor at UC Irvine.
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