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IMPACT LAB
Impact Lab (formerly known as Social Venture Management Course) is a 6-credit experiential learning course that allows students to work directly with social enterprises under the guidance of faculty instructors and professional mentors.
Students have opportunities to manage teams, solve real-life problems, and gain hands-on business experience, which strengthens their soft skills, helps them practically implement academic concepts, and greatly improves their ability to compete in the job market.
The course is offered at The University of Hong Kong in both semesters (Fall & Spring) and it has its own recruitment process and timeline - please refer to the Apply page for more details.
About the course
How Does the course work?
Students commit to work 10 hours per week for their respective company which starts and ends at the same time as the semester. There is no class time or final exam but there are some orientation sessions, 3 seminars and some optional talks throughout the semester that the students are encouraged to attend to make the best out of their time in Impact Lab. Students might or might not be required to work from an office (some social enterprises are micro-businesses and have no office space). See the course syllabus for more information on assessment & grading.
Course timeline
The below course timeline is orientational. The actual timeline may slightly differ based on the particular dates of the semester and public holidays/major festivals. Students are provided with exact dates and deadlines of all semester seminars and deliverables through an internal Student Guide.
WEEk 1-2
Recruitment & Onboarding Activities
WEEK 3
Action Plan Submission &
First Tasks
WEEK 4
Start of Weekly
Reflection
Submission
WEEK 5-6
1st Evaluation,
Seminar & Longer
Reflection
WEEK 7
Reading
Week
WEEk
9-10
2nd Seminar
& Longer
Reflection
WEEK 11
2nd Supervisor Evaluation
WEEk 12
Final Project Consultation
WEEk 13
3rd Seminar
& Longer
Reflection
WEEK 14
Final Weekly Reflection Submission
Week 15
Last Supervisor Evaluation
Week 16
Final Project Submission
course components
Students will produce an action plan for their proposed activities and goals for the semester.
action plan
Students will receive three feedback from their supervisor, the last one will be graded.
supervisor feedback
Students should hand in a report which summarizes what they did and a reflection about the week
weekly REFLECTIONS
Three compulsory and graded seminars provide insights into societal issues and what it takes to build an impactful business.
seminar
PARTICIPATION
Students write three longer reflections on their experience and showcase the application of concepts learned in the seminars and through the course in practice.
longer REFLECTIONS
Students must submit a final project relating to their Impact Lab experience.
final project
student experience
Learn to be proactive and actively engage in meeting, seminars and in work
Leadership
Continuously encouraging critical thinking and questioning to innovate for change and social good.
innovation
Gaining work experience before graduation, improves students' competitiveness in the job market.
mentoring
Bringing together different and divergent minds, in order to drive and catalyze new ways of thinking, new ideas and concepts, and new ways of doing things.
diversity
Connect with excellent student, supervisors, and worker from different counties
community
From contributing to finding cures for diseases, to promoting oral hygiene in developing countries and more, our aim is to embed impact into all of our academic and educational outcomes.
impact
By participating in the Impact Lab course you will get to test-drive your knowledge and skills; find a myriad of professionals and potential role models; strengthen your CV, develop a network, and importantly you will get to do good and have a positive social impact in the progress. Overall, it can be the experience of a lifetime and set the foundation for your future career.
MICHAELA FORTE,
HK
Placement with Soap Cycling
"Soap Cycling gave me the opportunity to build my confidence, communication skills, and my work ethic. It motivated me to continue to apply for internships in the NGO sector both locally and internationally."
Current role: UN Youth Task Force Coordinator
Course Instructors
David Bishop
Lucia Loposova
