Utrecht Refugee Launch Pad & Social Impact Factory Newsletter July 2017
What does the Social Impact Factory do exactly?
Utrecht Refugee Launch Pad is an extensive project with many participants and implementing partners. We are happy to refresh your memory with a short summary of the Social Impact Factory’s activities.
- We provide a practice program related to entrepreneurship and enterprising skills. The participants often join our program after attending the Utrecht Centre for Entrepreneurship 8-week course International Entrepreneurship.
- Our approach is future free: Participants obtain skills that are useful in the Netherlands or elsewhere. There are no entry requirements regarding language, status or education.
- Our program consists of five components. Together with every participant, we individually decide which activities will contribute to their professional future and are a good fit with their current personal situation. In this way, we put together a personal plan for every participant.
The five components are:
- Events: Every month an inspiring and informative event takes place, for example about networking or presenting yourself. There is always time to have a chat over dinner.
- Experience days: A participant visits a company in their field of interest for one day.
- Social projects in the neighbourhood: A project of 4 months, in which participants work together with companies and organizations in the neighbourhood in an entrepreneurial manner towards a solution for a social issue.
- Incubation programme: This is a very intensive councelling and training program of four months. This program is suited for participants with a clear business idea who want to start a business in the near future.
- Coaching: The participants are individually matched with a coach. In four months, they are working towards the next step towards their professional future. A concrete coaching question is created during the events.
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Great news: Nearly 80 coaches signed up!
After our call to apply as a coach for Plan Einstein, nearly 80 potential coaches signed up. Their backgrounds vary from experienced entrepreneurship, to retirement with an abundance of work experience, to enthusiastic students. The Social Impact Factory will make successful matches on the basis of the participants’ coaching question. Many coaches also offered an experience day at their company. Great news!
An information and training session is held on September 6, to prepare the coaches. The Dutch Refugee Council and Feedback Consulting are involved in the session.
We are looking forward to the meaningful meetings between coaches and coachees!
A look ahead to the coming months
There are many things to look forward to! In September, the second Challenge for social projects in the neighbourhood starts. The same month, the incubation program starts with a selected number of participants who are eager to start their own business. Their business ideas are for example related to catering, hospitality, sustainability, arts and elderly care.
We are very excited to continue with the current and new participants to work together the coming months!
Maaike Wit, Project Officer, Social Impact Factory
Integration of migrants and refugees
