Social Entrepreneurship
in Time of crises

Results

Analysis of the state of the art

Lebanon preliminary data. Report for public [download]

An assessment was developed about the specific needs of the project beneficiaries (students and trainers) in the four Lebanese universities: Saint Joseph University, Lebanese University, Université La Sagesse and Al-Azm University/now East International University. This report aims to show students’ perceptions of social entrepreneurship, examining how well they perceive it and how Lebanese universities are doing in teaching SE. In addition to exploring students’ perceptions, the report also investigates their motivations and barriers towards engaging in social entrepreneurship. A second investigation was conducted among +50 instructors in higher education, aiming to understand their perspectives, challenges, and recommendations regarding entrepreneurship education. The overall scope was is to build strategies that align with the needs and aspirations of the academic community, cultivating a supportive environment for entrepreneurship development and shedding light on potential areas for curriculum development and specialization.

Train the Trainers

The implementation of local training workshops is grounded in a Train-the-Trainers (ToT) model, which represents a cornerstone of the SE.TC project’s strategy for scalability, sustainability, and systemic impact. Rather than delivering training directly to a limited number of end beneficiaries, the project adopted a cascade approach, whereby academic staff from partner HEIs were first trained at an international level (with meetings in Limerick – Ireland in April 2024, Rome – Italy in November 2024) and subsequently empowered to replicate the programme within their own institutional and national contexts. This model enables a multiplication effect, ensuring that knowledge and competencies are not confined to the initial training phase but are continuously disseminated over time.

Importantly, the ToT phase did not focus solely on the transfer of content. It was designed as a “comprehensive capacity-building process”, equipping trainers with: advanced knowledge of social entrepreneurship concepts and tools; pedagogical methodologies tailored to experiential and practice-based learning; evaluation techniques to assess student performance and learning outcomes; the ability to adapt training content to local socio-economic conditions.

As evidenced by partner implementations, this approach led to the creation of “institutional trainer networks”, capable of independently delivering training, mentoring participants, and contributing to the long-term integration of the SETC curriculum within academic structures.

Train the students

Building on the Train-the-Trainers (ToT) approach, academic staff previously trained at international level successfully transferred knowledge, methodologies, and pedagogical tools to a broader audience at local and national level. This ensured that the project moved beyond pilot training into a sustainable, scalable capacity-building model.

Training workshops have been held in all the 4 Lebanese Universities of the Consortium across the second half of the project, in the form of a series of in-presence sessions targeting Lebanese students and youth. These workshops are meant to encourage a broader engagement in social entrepreneurship: throughout the different occasions, participants expressed strong desire to deepen their knowledge, particularly in areas of financial literacy and sustainability, legal structures, strategic partnerships and crisis resilience, as well as marketing, management and operational models of social enterprises. Overall the workshops involved almost 500 participants among students and educators.

Universities play a crucial role in nurturing future social entrepreneurs, and through the training workshops SE.TC is integrating social entrepreneurship into higher education, providing students with the possibility to develop their innovative ideas starting from a solid knowledge base. Crises often breed innovation, and Lebanon’s youth have the potential to rise to the challenge. By fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and providing the right tools, SE.TC is ensuring that Lebanese students are not just preparing for the future but actively shaping it.

Raise Awareness

  • “Innovate for Social Impact”: finding ways and solutions to foster social entrepreneurship in Lebanon, June 2024 [link]
  • The SE.TC project lands at Erasmus Days. Watch the video and discover the story of Firas Yehya, a young Lebanese entrepreneur, October 2024 [link]
  • Transforming challenges into social innovation in Lebanon. How SE.TC is empowering Lebanese youth, April 2025 [link]
  • Erasmus+ Webinar “Universities as Catalysts for Sustainable Development: Reimagining Higher Education through SDG4” | 23-24 September 2025, September 2025 [link]
  • SE.TC Days, October 28-30, 2025 | Beirut hosts three-days event in the framework of SE.TC project to boost social entrepreneurship and digital education in Lebanon, October 2025 [link]
  • The triple bottom line revolution: “Profit, People, Planet” – SE.TC Awareness Campaign at USJ Business School, November 2025 [link]
  • SE.TC featured in the Erasmus+ Lebanon Newsletter [link]
  • SE.TC Stakeholders Forum Promotes Social Innovation in North Lebanon, July 15, 2026 [link]
  • Entrepreneurial skills for social impact: follow the SE.TC webinar on Oct.13th under the Erasmus Days 2026 celebrations [link]

Curriculum Development and the delivery of a MOOC on Social Entrepreneurship

The SE.TC curriculum was successfully implemented by all four Lebanese partner universities through multiple delivery formats, including accredited university courses, intensive training workshops, and capacity-building training sessions, ensuring flexibility and adaptation to the different institutional contexts. Despite the challenging political situation in Lebanon, all partners maintained their commitment to project implementation and successfully delivered the curriculum as planned. Overall, more than 50 instructors participated in the delivery of the curriculum and capacity-building activities, while over 495 students benefited from the training across the participating institutions. This achievement demonstrates the strong collaboration among the consortium partners, the resilience of the participating universities, and the successful implementation of the SE.TC curriculum despite the exceptional circumstances.

During the pilot implementation, systematic feedback was collected from both students and instructors through workshop evaluation forms, structured questionnaires, consultations and classroom observations. The results of these evaluations were used to refine and update the curriculum before its wider deployment across the partner universities, ensuring continuous quality improvement, alignment with stakeholder needs and validation of the learning outcomes.

Following the curriculum validation meeting held on June 2025, all consortium partners validated the final curriculum structure and confirmed the implementation plan for the pilot phase. Module leaders presented each module, agreed on final refinements, and endorsed the integration of Lebanese case studies and practical activities before the large-scale rollout. The curriculum was therefore updated and validated collectively by the Lebanese and European partners prior to implementation and MOOC development. USJ led the development of SE.TC’s online platform and e-content through its dedicated portal, converting the curriculum into multimedia modules with support from CINIA and European partners.

Each partner university allocated a dedicated space in its premises, and USJ prepared a professional studio, a multimedia room equipped through the SE.TC project, where all the partners were able to record their MOOCs with the same production quality. TUS followed this task closely, as did UNINETTUNO. In parallel, the Moodle spaces were created in the four Lebanese universities under the supervision of TUS and in close collaboration with USJ and its IT team, CINIA, which was responsible for developing the platforms at USJ. All the Lebanese partners created their spaces following the same structure, ensuring a similar setup across the four platforms.

The lebanese partners shared the costruction of the MOOC content. Each university prepared 1 module (scenario, script and PPT), while USJ prepared 3 Modules since it was leading the MOOC development. To avoid duplication of work, partners agreed to share module contents (PPT, scenarios and scripts) through the Moodle backup/restore feature, and each completed module is sent to TUS for review and correction. The agreed MOOC design comprises 6 modules of 3 videos of about 5 minutes each, with quizzes (80% passing grade, unlimited attempts), PowerPoint presentations, references, and resources integrated in the video scenarios. Finally, modules were distributed as follows: USJ (Modules 1, 2 and 4), ULS (Module 3), the Lebanese University (Module 5) and LIU (Module 6). CINIA at USJ also managed the supervision of the Moodle space, the editing for video production, instructional design, and platform hosting, to ensure coherence of all modules and MOOC delivery.

Sessions were deliberately kept to four-to-six minutes, each followed by a short quiz or activity, based on evidence that engagement drops sharply in longer, unbroken video segments; following a benchmarking exercise against Coursera MOOCs from EPFL, Johns Hopkins, Yale, the University of Amsterdam and HEC Paris, the consortium opted for minimal, cost-effective slide-based animation with instructor narration, consistent with international practice. The lebanese partners online platforms (Moodle-based, styled after Coursera, with course navigation, module structure and assessment logic) were presented and demonstrated to all partners. Finalisation of the video content was set for June 2026, with hosting on the platforms by July and final testing and validation planned during a partner visit to Italy in November 2026.

The MOOCs are the result of a collaborative journey combining needs assessments, capacity building, workshops, conferences, and the co-creation of educational resources, and they will soon be accessible to learners in Lebanon, Europe, and beyond, continuing to support students, educators, and aspiring social entrepreneurs well beyond the project’s lifetime.

Ownership and sustainability

  • The Third Level Impact [link]

Project approach to sustainability

The SE.TC project is designed to generate both short- and long-term impact, with a strong focus on sustainability and transferability. In the long term, it aims to strengthen dialogue among higher education institutions (HEIs) and the broader Lebanese community (students, youth, social enterprises, donors, local authorities), and between Lebanese partners and international institutions, while enhancing collaborations for impactful and sustainable economic and social development. Moreover, a key objective is to transfer the project’s intervention model, based on training, engagement, awareness and support to youth, to other universities in the country, under the guidance of the project partners due to their gained experience. Sustainability was ensured through dissemination, stakeholder engagement, and institutional embedding. Results of the project, such as the SE.TC MOOCs, could be shared widely beyond the consortium through cascade trainings and networking activities, and targeted communication strategies.

In the last project meeting, Prof. May from USJ outlined the third level of project impact, which focuses on community engagement through partnerships with NGOs, municipalities, and schools. Trained students will act as social entrepreneurship ambassadors, facilitating awareness sessions and collaborative initiatives with organizations such as Arcenciel, Caritas, Snowball, and Ahlouna. The project aimed to establish a national network of changemakers to maintain momentum beyond the project’s life cycle. The consortium emphasized moving beyond university settings to community-based implementation. Future workshops will be co-designed with subcontractors, ensuring alignment with SE.TC core objectives and community needs. Trained students will act as community multipliers, transferring their knowledge of social entrepreneurship to local audiences. Focus areas include raising awareness on sustainability, entrepreneurship, and civic participation.

Sustainability actions

USJ currently offers an ongoing course on “Social Entrepreneurship,” which it plans to update in alignment with the SETC project objectives. The revised course will be delivered with 2 validated academic credits and accompanied. Moreover, USJ is committed to ensuring the course’s continuous delivery in future academic cycles, embedding it sustainably within its curriculum offering. In parallel, MOOCS will be developed and hosted on the USJ online platform. As well the other partners who are committed to develop their online Platforms.

ULS and its PULSE center (Pôle de l’ULS pour l’entrepreneuriat) will deliver workshops to students from all ULS faculties. Participants will be evaluated by a jury, and those who successfully complete the workshop will receive a certificate jointly signed by PULSE and the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA). We are fully aligned with the six-module structure and will implement it accordingly during this pilot phase.

Lebanese International University is committed to sustaining the impact of the SE.TC project beyond its formal completion by workshops and MOOCS on an open access Platform.

In LU, within the work of the Centre MINE (Center for Careers, Innovation and Entrepreneurship), activities are planned for students and educators, also in collaboration with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.

Sustainability plan

The 4 Lebanese universities are committed to sustaining the benefits of SE.TC beyond the project period. Examples of sustainability measures are:

  • SE.TC Training Institutionalization: Established as an elective course for Business students. 
  • Future Expansion: Plan to extend the program to other faculties, pending Ministry approval.
  • Entrepreneurship Integration: Four sections incorporating SE.TC components scheduled for Fall 2025.
  • Workshops & Expert Sessions: Ongoing sessions planned through Spring/Summer 2026.
  • Mission Alignment: Reinforcing universities’ mission to empower students as change agents.
  • Raise Awareness. Continued sessions on the relevance of SE for fragile economic and social contexts.
  • Establish long-term partnerships between academia and civil society.
  • Empower youth as catalysts for local change and sustainable community growth, developing a national network of changemakers supported by universities and NGOs.
  • Document best practices and success stories for replication across partner institutions.

Finally, the EU Partners committed to sustain the collaboration with Lebanese institutions and to give visibility to the tremendous effort and high-quality outcomes that the SE.TC project has put into play.

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