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McPherson College is committed to lifting up liberal arts.
For us it is not about fitting in.
Success is measured by how you stand out.

An Enterprising Idea…

posted by Michael Schneider | | My Thoughts

We had an idea. We wanted to try something different that would demonstrate that the Liberal Arts is enterprising. So we created the Global Enterprise Challenge.

Thirty students signed up as individuals and were teamed up to create a social enterprise in Haiti. The best idea would take their enterprise to Haiti. They had 10 days to generate ideas, create plans and make a presentation.

Here’s what happened…

We didn’t assign a book. However, between the 6 teams they checked out over 60.

There was no instructor of record. Just a mentor. However, the teams managed to involve “secret weapons” (professors) from 10 disciplines.

There was no meeting time. However, teams managed to meet on average twice a day over the 10-day period. They met early in the morning and late at night around work, class and co-curricular schedules.

There was no prerequisite to participate. We got students from almost every discipline and every classification. We got students who have traveled extensively and students who have not left the state of Kansas.

We only gave them 10 days to complete the challenge. However, the written and oral presentations were outstanding.

We didn’t give them many resources. However, every group made contact with organizations on the ground in Haiti. Most of the teams had formal partnerships by the time they made their presentations. One team even brought a partner organization to campus to meet with their team.