Alterna Social Ventures Institute connects Carleton students exploring high impact careers
On May 26, the Alterna Social Ventures Institute at Carleton University hosted Impact Ignite – the first of a workshop series for students looking to make a social impact through their careers.
The workshops introduce students to systems thinking, an approach where complex issues – such as poverty or climate change – are viewed as systems with many moving parts that need to be tackled by a wide range of actors, as opposed to a singular problem with a singular solution.
“The ideas of a circular economy, things that are connected with each other, one thing affects another which affects another – all these parts and pieces are just the way the world works but we haven’t necessarily been approaching it that way,” said Leanne Keddie, director of the Institute and assistant professor of accounting at Carleton’s Sprott School of Business. “My biggest hope is that people left thinking about issues and impact differently and more collaboratively.”
Daniela Papi-Thornton, an educator and consultant in systems-led leadership who has taught at Oxford University’s Said School of Business and the Yale School of Management, facilitated the workshop.
“We don’t have to think about impact careers in any one field,” Daniela told attendees. “It’s not just in non-profits or social entrepreneurship or any one discipline.”
She explained that systems thinking allows people working in any field to tackle the issues they’re passionate about.
“Whatever you’re studying you can come out of your time at school and have a high-impact career.”
Finding what you are passionate about, and then learning more about it, is the most important step in having a high impact career. She also cautioned students not to prioritize what they think the world needs over how they want to contribute. For example, don’t think that because the world needs doctors, you have to be a doctor to have an impact, even if you don’t want to be one.
“The world needs a lot of other things,” she said. “Don’t ask what the world needs; ask what makes you come alive. And then go out and do that. Because what the world needs is people who come alive.”
During the workshop, participants were divided into break out groups where they discussed the impact they wanted to have in the world and map out what they believed their current impact to be, what they want it to be in the future, the relationships they need to build to achieve it, and the courage they would need to chase their goals.
Led by the Sprott School of Business, the Alterna Social Ventures Institute provides students from all areas of study across Carleton University with access to programming and resources that foster social innovation and support the creation of student-led social ventures.
The next Impact Ignite workshop will be held on June 14. Participants will be able to build their network of like-minded peers, as well as explore their areas of passion and how they can continue to use systems thinking to tackle the problems of the world.