Course Details
About
Whether you're leading a small startup or scaling an established organisation, the programme will equip you with the tools and strategies to thrive in the dynamic social economy.
In a world facing numerous social, economic, and environmental crises, social enterprises are crucial for shaping a more equitable and sustainable future. Our programme will help you reflect on your work, identify opportunities for growth, and take action to create lasting social change within your organisation.
Key to this journey is developing the right mindset and skills to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of the social economy, ensuring that your enterprise can make a measurable impact while maintaining financial sustainability.
What You'll Learn
Social Entrepreneurship Theory: Gain a deep understanding of the latest thinking on social enterprise development and how to apply these theories in real-world contexts. Learn how to navigate the complexities of today’s social challenges and create ventures that are both impactful and financially viable.
Practical Business Skills: Master the business strategies needed to start, grow, and sustain a social enterprise. Topics include marketing, finance, governance, and social impact measurement. Explore how leadership and digital technology can amplify your efforts and help you scale with purpose.
Building Transferable Skills: As a social entrepreneur, your success depends on more than just technical knowledge. Develop a creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial mindset that empowers you to solve problems, think critically, and approach challenges with confidence. You'll also strengthen essential soft skills like emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, and networking.
Who Should Apply?
This programme is ideal for anyone working in or leading a social enterprise, whether you're just starting out or looking to scale your impact. It’s for those who are committed to using business as a force for good and are eager to enhance their skills and knowledge to better navigate the complexities of the social economy.
Join us in shaping a brighter, more sustainable future. The Advanced Certificate in Social Enterprise will give you the tools, skills, and confidence to drive positive change, grow your enterprise, and maximise your social impact.
Course Duration and Delivery Format
Course start date: February 2025
Students will study 3 modules between February and May.
The course is taught on a ‘block’ basis with students spending 3 days on campus for each module which are scheduled approximately 8 weeks apart.
Creating Social Value Through Marketing
- Tuesday 11th February
- Tuesday 18th February
- Tuesday 25th February
Social Business Model Generation
- Tuesday 8th April
- Monday 14th April
- Friday 18th April
The Global Enterprise Movement
- Wednesday 7th May
- Thursday 8th May
- Friday 9th May
Dates may be subject to change.
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
The course is assessed 100% through coursework.
This course offers various methods of teaching and learning to address the needs of industry and the economy in today's fast-changing world.
Assessment will be relevant to students and help them to make an impact in their own jobs or organisations.
Campus
Derry~Londonderry
Credit Points
The course comprises of 60 credit points at level 5, which are studied over two semesters.
Social Business Model Generation
In a world of austerity, with increasing demand for public services and reduced public funding, new solutions are required. Solving major societal and environmental challenges is no longer only within the remit of public or third sectors. Private sector firms are increasingly expected to not only focus purely on profit, but to consider the wider implications of their operations. Many private sector firms now compete for public sector contracts alongside social economy organisations.
This increased competition is a strong threat to the sustainability of many social enterprises who rely on public funding through grants. Furthermore, private sector firms are helping tackle grand challenges at local, national and international levels by developing innovative and profitable business models which balance hybrid logics of creating both social and economic value. Whereas the traditional role of a social enterprise to prioritise social value can often mean many do not make a profit and then find it challenging to create larger scale social impact.
Social Entrepreneurs are people who can work across boundaries and recognise that social and environmental problems represent opportunities for collaboration and innovative business models. The challenge is to come up with business models which can combine both social and economic value in order to accelerate social impact.
Business model generation in this context will require the capacity to look creatively at generating solutions to problems. This will require supporting participants to better understand their context, understand what differentiates them and to 'expand possibilities' through looking creatively at new ways of addressing social value and new ways of supplying services.
Creating Social Value Through Marketing
Marketing is a key underpinning of businesses. It is the main activity which connects a social enterprise's 'offering' with the target audience(s). Marketing is therefore a key 'enabler' to creating social value, growing and sustaining a social business and achieving success by differentiating the business from competitors.
Social enterprises that combine good marketing practice with understanding of their customer and wider stakeholder market can improve their social impact and create social value. Delaying examining a marketing approach, risks lessening social and economic impact and value.
This module therefore aims to help to strengthen the delivery of social value by adopting a marketing approach. The module outlines the key tools and concepts required to put together a successful marketing strategy for a social enterprise which can then inform a marketing plan. It provides practical understanding useful in shaping the marketing approaches, practices and activities as a social entrepreneur for the enterprise.
The Global Enterprise Movement
The Global Social Enterprise movement is tackling some of the world's most entrenched problems such as poverty, unemployment, inequality and unsustainable development with innovative solutions, applied business practices and new social business models. The social enterprise movement is growing apace with bottom-up, localised solutions as well as large scale multi-national interventions often involving public, private and third sector collaboration.
This module will demonstrate the power of social enterprise using a range of examples, from world leaders to young social entrepreneurs. It will provide an overview using academic models of social enterprise and ways of understanding the complex interrelationships of all sectors in working together to resolve social, economic and environmental issues. The module will include a focus on the leadership challenges associated with a move to a more entrepreneurial model for leaders tasked with addressing difficult issues whilst operating in highly complex environment.
Ultimately the module should develop awareness of the global social enterprise movement and inspire students to learn from the success of others in finding and applying solutions to their own organisational challenges.
Course Entry requirements
Applicants must be resident in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland and:
(a) Have gained a Certificate of Higher Education or an equivalent standard in an approved alternative qualification; and
(b) must be in employment or undertaking significant voluntary activity within an organisation; and
(c) provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent;
or, as an alternative to (a) and/or (c)
(d) provide evidence of their ability to undertake the programme through the accreditation of prior experiential learning.
Applicants may be invited for interview.
Fee Funding Eligibility
Places are limited and open to applicants who:
- are over 18 years of age;
- are eligible to work in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland (ROI);
- are ‘settled’ in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, and has been ordinarily resident in the UK or ROI for at least three years; or
- are a person who has indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK or ROI.
- meet the course specific entry requirements as detailed above.
- this programme is not available to applicants with the following residency:
- GB and Islands
- EU excluding ROI qualifying residents
- International students
Apply now - limited places available
There are a limited number of funded places for this course. Offers will be extended to those applicants who meet the entry requirements following successful completion of the application process, on a first come, first served basis.
Application Process
- Click on the Apply Now button.
- This will take you to the online application system – if you have never used this before please click on First Time user account creation and create an account.
- Log into the system and click on New – create a new application.
- Choose Professional Develop Postgrad as the Application Type.
- Choose Admission Term Academic Year 2024-2025 and complete your details.
- Click the Fill Out Application button.
- Click on Programme Selection.
- In the programme choice dropdown please choose: PG Cred DFE, Part-Time Derry~Londonderry
- Please type the title of the short course you wish to study in the box below the programme choice: Advanced Certificate Social Enterprise
- Please complete all required application sections.
- Ensure your application is complete and then submit.
- You will receive a confirmation email that the application has been submitted, please ensure you check your junk mail as well as the inbox of the e-mail address listed on your application.
- If you have sent all required information and you have been successful, you will receive an unconditional offer. You must accept this offer via email and confirm acceptance online to secure your place.
- If you have not sent all required information, you will be asked to send outstanding items. If a place is still available and you have met all requirements, you will receive an unconditional offer. You must accept this offer via email and confirm acceptance online to secure your place.
IMPORTANT: If we have requested additional items, you do not have a guaranteed place. You may lose your space if you do not provide any required information by the deadline supplied in the Request for documentation Email. - Once your place is accepted, you will receive an enrolment email. You must complete the online enrolment to confirm your place and start your course.
