DISCIPLINED APPROACH TO

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
(DASE1x)
COURSE SYLLABUS
 DASE1x – Disciplined Approach to Social
Entrepreneurship
Course description:
This course will benefit individuals who are passionate about social justice and creating social impact
with a view to transforming the lives of the underserved. From social entrepreneurs, to those
employed in a not-for-profit, and entrepreneurs who value corporate social
responsibility/sustainability within a business/government, this course will allow you to gain the
relevant knowledge, tools and skill-sets to further your passion for social change.

Course objectives:
After completing this course, you will be able to:

• summarise the importance of social entrepreneurship

• explain how social entrepreneurships differ from traditional entrepreneurships
• use design thinking to generate solutions for a social problem
• delineate the characteristics of effective social entrepreneurs
• explore the different types of social entrepreneurships including structures and business
models, and
• apply the disciplined entrepreneurship approach from ideation to developing the product
plan

Pre-requisites:
None

Time commitment:
3-4 hours per week

Course Team:
Dr Subra Ananthram Subra Ananthram is an Associate Professor in the School of
Management at Curtin University. He is also a co-ordinator
of the Master of International Business and
Entrepreneurship course http://curtin.edu/mibe. He
teaches in the areas of international business and
entrepreneurship and has won multiple awards for
designing courses that maximise student engagement
across a various delivery modes and global campuses. He is
also currently the lead academic facilitator for the Curtin
Ignition program https://campaign.curtin.edu.au/ignition-
business-training/. His current research projects include
social enterprises and frugal innovation and he has
published extensively in the areas of international business
and strategy.

DASE1x – Disciplined approach to Social Entrepreneurship 2T2019 2

 Dr Chris Rawson Chris Rawson is an Associate Professor in Marine Science at
Curtin University. His research background is in the
development of tools for the assessment of marine
pollution, in particular oil spills, and the remediation of
contaminated land. He has a passion for the development
of innovative learning opportunities for students. He
coordinates a course for high performing science students
in which learners are challenged to address global problems
through application of science and technology to propose a
social enterprise or research project. Chis is currently the
Dean of Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Science
and Engineering and is working to embed enterprise skills
throughout STEM related courses.

Dr Jo Li Tay Jo Li Tay is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Design

and the Built Environment at Curtin University. She worked
across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors as a
graphic designer for 10 years before moving to the life of
an academic at Curtin. She primarily teaches Design Theory,
Design Principles, and Design Thinking and has received a
teaching award at Curtin in recognition of her work in the
unit Introduction to Design Thinking. Her particular
research interests are in Aesthetics, Interactivity,
Experience Design, Learning, and Design Thinking – her PhD
was on "A Model for Mapping Interactivity in Learning
Experiences". She also enjoys dabbling in side projects, one
of which involved co-founding a mobile app company,
Flock2go.

Danelle Cross Danelle is currently Head of Executive Education in the

Faculty of Business and Law. She has over 18 years’
experience in strategic marketing, communications and
program management. After studying marketing and public
relations at Curtin, Danelle went on to work for News
Limited in Perth and Sydney, Heinz Australasia in
Melbourne, Marks & Spencer in London before returning to
Perth to continue her career at Curtin in 2008. Danelle is a
Fellow of Leadership WA and successfully completed the
MIT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp in
Australia in 2018.

Course Contributors:
The course team would like to acknowledge the generous support provided by four highly successful
social entrepreneurs who have generously shared their insights and experiences. Each section of this
MOOC is supported by video interviews with these organisations.

DASE1x – Disciplined approach to Social Entrepreneurship 2T2019 3

The framework for this course was drawn from the Disciplined Entrepreneurship process developed
by Bill Aulet, Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship at MIT and
Professor of the Practice at the MIT Sloan School of Management. We thank him for his
encouragement and support in applying the 24 Steps to the very complex demands of social
entrepreneurship.

Course Syllabus:
This course consists of an orientation module and 6 content modules. We estimate that you will
need to spend at least 3-4 hours per week on each module.

Module 1 - Fundamentals of social entrepreneurship (Part 1)

At the conclusion of this module you will be able to:

• identify the key features of social entrepreneurship
• differentiate between social entrepreneurship and traditional entrepreneurship

Module 2 - Fundamentals of social entrepreneurship (Part 2)

At the conclusion of this module you will be able to:

• identify the key motivations of social entrepreneurs
• describe the importance of social entrepreneurships in relation to consumers,
communities and societies

Module 3 – Design thinking for social entrepreneurship

At the conclusion of this module you will be able to:

• explain what design thinking is
• identify the key stages of design thinking
• understand the role of design thinking in entrepreneurship and social innovation
• use design thinking to generate solutions for a social problem

Module 4 – Disciplined approach to social entrepreneurship (Part 1)

At the conclusion of this module you will be able to:

• create valuable specificity through market segmentation and defining a beachhead
market
• develop an end user profile using multiple personas who share your values
• calculate your potential total addressable market

Module 5 – Disciplined approach to social entrepreneurship (Part 2)

At the conclusion of this module you will be able to:

• define the customer experience directly related to the product or services you are
providing
• quantify the unique value you bring to your target customer using use-case diagrams
• map the process needed to acquire customers/end users

DASE1x – Disciplined approach to Social Entrepreneurship 2T2019 4

Module 6 - Disciplined approach to Social Entrepreneurship (Part 3)

At the conclusion of this module you will be able to:

• develop a business model that incorporates your social values
• determine how you will overcome common obstacles in getting your product/service
adopted by customers
• identify and test key assumptions in the business model

Assessment Summary:
In order to successfully complete this course you must gain an overall mark of 70% or higher.
This course consists of six assessments, as outlined below. You can find further details about
assessment requirements within the Assessment section of the course.

Assessment Type % of Final Grade Due Date

Module 1 Quiz 10% Before course ends

Module 2 Quiz 10% Before course ends

Module 3 Quiz 20% Before course ends

Module 4 Quiz 20% Before course ends

Module 5 Quiz 20% Before course ends

Module 6 Quiz 20% Before course ends

You can complete the Module quizzes at any time as there are no "due dates", however we do
recommend that you complete them sequentially, after you complete the relevant module.

Course Schedule:
Once the course starts you will be able to see all the modules immediately.

Week Module Assessment

1 Orientation
Module 1 – Fundamentals of social entrepreneurship (Part 1) Quiz 1

2 Module 2 – Fundamentals of social entrepreneurship (Part 2) Quiz 2

3 Module 3 – Design thinking for social entrepreneurship Quiz 3

4 Module 4 – Disciplined approach to social entrepreneurship (Part 1) Quiz 4

5 Module 5 – Disciplined approach to social entrepreneurship (Part 2) Quiz 5

6 Module 6 - Disciplined approach to social entrepreneurship (Part 3) Quiz 6

DASE1x – Disciplined approach to Social Entrepreneurship 2T2019 5