We are a community of learners from every corner of campus, first-year through doctoral, applying our passions to change the world.
What is NC State Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship?
Social innovation and entrepreneurship is the practice of applying problem-solving tools and a creative mindset to bring about a more equitable and just world. We learn skills to become global change leaders, whether as entrepreneurs starting new ventures or social enterprises or those seeking to learn problem-solving skills to impact their communities or existing organizations.
The NC State campus and surrounding community serve as our vibrant laboratory for social entrepreneurship. Faculty, staff and students from across our diverse university work hand in hand with our area’s brightest entrepreneurs. In this dynamic environment, we teach, mentor and learn from and with each together.
Think big and get real! During last weeks Inovation Lab we had very special guest speakers @eliz.benefield (founder and previous Director of SIE) and Katie-Gray Jackson (former Designer for SIF and now professional Designer for Lenovo) from @radiate_works guide the Fellows through a workshop on theory of change and thinking BIG! Thank you to our guest speakers!
Shaun Deardorff, an entrepreneur and business owner from Durham, North Carolina is a senior in the College of Engineering majoring in Aerospace Engineering and minoring in Business Entrepreneurship, and is heavily involved on campus, serving as a director of the Krispy Kreme Challenge, a principal structures engineer at Liquid Rocketry Lab, University Scholars Program, and ambassadors for the entrepreneurship and MAE department.
Passionate and driven to help serve others, he is working to extended 5G millimeter wave technology in the US using drones and rovers, and helping to stop rhino poaching in Namibia, using his research with hydrogen fuel cell-equipped Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
In the meantime, Shaun is aiming to create a new start-up that is a multi-faceted autonomous AI-driven unmanned aerial vehicle company to help increase humanitarian aid and transport access in remote location to save more lives.
“As part of the Social Innovation Fellows program, I look forward to applying my creative problem solving experience with an skilled interdisciplinary team to develop creative ideas and solutions to help support our community. As the SIF program promotes creativity, innovation, and ideation while placing an emphasis on diversity and cultural differences, I’m excited to help contribute solutions to important issues and tackle growing global challenges.”
