Over 180 incoming MBA students embarked on their studies at Oxford’s Saïd Business School with a ‘Day of Conversations on Social Innovation: Opportunities for Involvement and Action.’ The 5 October event featured conversations with research and teaching faculty in the school, recent alumni doing pioneering work in social finance, health care innovation and carbon trading, and master class sessions with leading social entrepreneurs.

Three research centres at the school — the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, the Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship — came together to convene the event and alert new students to the wide range of expertise and opportunities that extend the core MBA programme.

The school’s research centres take an active role in expanding the scope of students’ intellectual and professional development by supervising course projects and independent research, as well as sponsoring activities throughout the year such as speakers and seminars, student-organised Oxford Business Networks (OBNs) and Hilary Term ‘Treks.’

This year’s event expanded on the inaugural session in 2008 and provided a full-day introduction to people and resources at Oxford and beyond, and to the concept of social enterprise, bringing social and business principles to bear on complex, societal challenges.