Ashoka U works with colleges and universities to foster a campus-wide culture of social innovation. Next week, the organization will be hosting Ashoka U Exchange, a conference that brings together innovators in higher education who are reimagining how to catalyze long-term change and social impact.
Ashoka U Exchange at Tulane will bring together social innovations in higher education. Photo via ashokau.org.
The Exchange will be hosted from February 25-27 at Tulane in New Orleans. University President Mike Fitts will deliver the conference’s opening address.
“New Orleans and Tulane are the perfect hosts for this event,” Tulane President Mike Fitts said. “The city has become a center for people seeking new and enterprising solutions to complex problems, and Tulane is one of the forces nourishing this community of social entrepreneurs and innovators.”
Organizer Ashoka U is an initiative of Ashoka, the largest network of social entrepreneurs with ties to 150 colleges and universities advancing education worldwide.
While the Exchange is not open to the public, attendees will be able to experience sessions on reimagining the classroom experience, building community partnerships and creating student pathways for innovation, which will benefit their communities around the world.
Maggie Hansen, director of the community design center of Tulane’s architecture school, Tulane City Center, will also be in attendance to accept one of five Ashoka U-Cordes Innovation Awards. The award recognizes top educational approaches in social entrepreneurship.
Tulane City Center is being recognized for their work on over 80 community-driven projects in the New Orleans area. “The award highlights how teams across Tulane have defined their own role in promoting social innovation education on campus and beyond,” explains Kenneth Schwartz, dean of the Tulane School of Architecture and director of the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking at Tulane.