SVKM’s NMIMS University has a strong commitment to influence the quality of management in profit and non-profit organizations. The University believes that social responsibility is a key contributor to progress and that the principles and techniques of management are applicable to both; the corporate sector and voluntary service organizations. With the establishment of its Rotary Club of Bombay West Chair in Management of Non-Profit Organizations in 1991, NMIMS became one of the earliest institutions in this country to develop training in the area of voluntary sector. With the collaboration of the Rotary Club of Bombay West, the Institute conducted short-term courses in the areas of management of NGOs and designed a Certificate/Diploma Programme in Management of Voluntary Service Organization, which was subsequently upgraded in 2007 to MBA programme in Social Entrepreneurship. To promote entrepreneurship among women a 12 week programme in Enterprise Training for Women is being offered since 1992.
To institutionalize its social commitment the University instituted the ‘Social Enterprise Cell’ on 1st January, 2005 which was subsequently upgraded as Center for Sustainability Management & Social Entrepreneurship on October 1, 2011 with the vision of sensitizing the students, faculty members, alumni, corporates and human service organizations to continuously respond to the changing social realities through the development and application of knowledge for creating a sustainable society that protects and promotes the dignity, equality, social justice and human rights for all.
On Jan 12, 2013, the Center received a generous endowment from Mr. Uday Indukumar Jasani & Mr. Suresh Kantilal Jasani in the memory of their grandfathers (Shri Nanalal, Shri Becharlal and Shri Mohanlal Jasani) who actively participated in the freedom movement and closely worked with Mahatma Gandhi. In recognition of the endowment extended, the Center is renamed as the ‘JASANI CENTRE FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP & SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT’
As a catalyst and innovator, the Center’s mission is to create a new generation of business leaders and social entrepreneurs who are knowledgeable about and are committed to create a sustainable society. The Center’s objectives serve as a bridge between academia, the corporate world and the civil society organizations. The research, as well as the teaching strengths combined with the experiential learning approach and guiding principles of the Center, connect sustainability focused knowledge and research to students, businesses and the civil society organizations.
The Center's work is spread over five broad areas:
The Jasani Center disseminates knowledge through designing and upgrading relevant courses at MBA level in the areas of micro finance, marketing for social change, management of micro enterprises and social enterprises, micro insurance corporate social responsibility and other related aspects. The Center actively engages in designing short term courses and customized training for personnel working in public as well as private sector in the areas of sustainability, CSR, social entrepreneurship, project and programme management, impact assessment and any other area which supports the objectives of the Center.
The Center concentrates its research efforts in the areas of a) impact assessment of sustainability practices of business and civil society organizations, b) Public policy and its impact, c) social audits, d) micro finance and other related areas.
Rising inequality has emerged as one of the most critical problems confronting businesses and societies worldwide. Increasingly businesses are required to balance economic competition and social cohesion. The School of Business Management (SBM), NMIMS, believes that it has distinctive responsibility to create transformational leaders to build an inclusive and sustainable world. Our mission is to inspire, train, and support the next generation of socially sensitive managers with the experiences necessary to develop their confidence, courage, and skills to create substantial positive social impact. We believe it is essential for students to embed a more robust and critical kind of scholarship to incorporate the sustainability dimension in their thought process. To further enhance sustainability perspective and inculcate values of inclusiveness, social innovation, collegiality, integrity, and excellence, SBM, since 2010, has incorporated a three-week 'We Care: Civic Engagement' internship in its full-time MBA curriculum. We believe if opportunities are provided to engage students to address the social agenda formally, they can become change-makers. We want our students to perceive SBM not only as a place to build their careers but also as a place to demonstrate the power of education and its locus in creating shared value.
Internship Objectives:
1) To foster analytical skills among students to analyze the root causes, existing solutions, and cascading impacts of social issues on society and business.
2) To develop skills to apply management logic and technical and critical thinking in proposing innovative solutions to address social issues.
3) To create abilities to be socially sensitive and inclusive.
Students are placed at the pan India level in various NGOs, NPOs, Social Enterprises, government organizations, and CSR departments for three weeks in the third trimester under the mentorship of faculty mentors. During the internship, students are required to devote 7-8 hours per day to fieldwork and work on education-related projects, gender discrimination, energy conservation, poverty, skill development, financial inclusion, and so on. These projects are aligned to multiple Sustainable Development Goals. To facilitate internship placement, we partner with over 500 NGOs/ Social Enterprises across various geographies in India and 50 corporations. International students are placed in their cities of origin.
Post internship, students are assessed by faculty mentors with the help of a Rubric. To celebrate the learning journey and facilitate peer-to-peer learning We Care poster presentation event is organized. To augment experiential learning, students are encouraged to participate in competitions like 'We Care Documentary,' 'We Care Photo story,' and we Innovate Challenge.' The We Care Anthology comprises articles penned by the students. These articles lay the groundwork for having engaging class discussions and explore possible alternatives to accelerate social development.
The School of Business Management, NMIMS is committed to nurturing the social entrepreneurs of tomorrow and strengthen the social entrepreneurs of today. Since 2007 SBM has been offering launched a uniquely architectured One Year Diploma Programme in Social Entrepreneurship and a Two Year MBA (part-time) Programme in Social Entrepreneurship. These academic programs prepares students for innovatively approaching public needs with a combination of entrepreneurial practices and social purposes through the for-profit, non-profit, and governmental sectors.
Social innovation largely results from the work of passionate individuals who establish or use diverse platforms for addressing social issues that bother them. The Jasani Center believes that social innovations are largely incubated in the voluntary sector and to scale it up the students must learn to embrace state or market institutions. To promote student interest in social innovations and facilitate their skills for scaling up, various Social B-Plan competitions are organized. The Center provides unstinted support to students to participate in the inter college and inter university social venture and social entrepreneurship B-Plan competitions. Efforts are made to introduce the students to the funding agencies network to provide seed capital to students who wish to incubate their innovative ideas.
Disaster scenarios that once seemed merely theoretical have now become a disturbing reality. Whether manmade or natural they can strike in the most unprecedented ways and result in colossal damages to both life and property. Recognizing the need for developing effective mitigation and preparedness strategies, the Jasani Center actively undertakes the following activities:
- Organize orientation and advanced courses for students of management in the area of Disaster Management/ Emergency Response Management.
- Networks with Municipal Corporation, State Government, NGOs, Industry & Trade organizations and Educational institutions to organise emergency management exercises/exhibitions at the city level.
- Develops capacities of advanced locality management groups, NGOs, business organizations, academic institutions and government functionaries through designing appropriate training programmes for disaster prevention and mitigation.
- Designs workshops, lectures, seminars, conferences, training programmes, management development programmes and symposia for providing knowledge and developing skills of executives from the cross sectors to address issues of disaster management.
- Conducts field based qualitative and quantitative research in the area of disaster management.
Annual Reports
