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Circus is all about social innovation.
The consultancy works with listed companies, SME’s, social enterprises and start ups to strengthen their impact and financial return. They don’t believe in the traditional Corporate Social Responsibility concept but prefer to promote Corporate Social Innovation.
In this episode, you hear from Alvin Yip, board member of Circus and Professor and Vice Dean of City Design and Innovation at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Find out how he tries to get developers to put the community first. Starting with the bar where we recorded this interview, Tai Lung Fung, a place with lots of character. A few years back, the building was meant to be demolished but instead – thanks to his intervention – it turned into a Non-Profit art project and restaurant/bar.
Alvin shares why the tertiary education sector is behind when it comes to social innovation and what kind of revolution it would take to transform universities and make them live up to their full potential.
“It’s all about connecting different knowledge areas,” Alvin shares.
See Alvin live at Creative Mornings
He gives you an inside look into the hurdles that keep university departments from collaborating, not only when it comes to the social impact field. But it does not stop at better cooperation within schools. How to break down the walls around the universities to have more collaboration with outside partners, companies and the communities is something that keeps Alvin up at night.
Alvin gives an honest account of his tactics and visions but also the failures and the push-back that he faced when he tried to break these walls down.
“Some thought I’ve been too provocative…[but] I would spend 10% more of my time to lobby,” he shares.
It’s not just difficulty collaborating that is keeping universities from leading on social innovation. Alvin is concerned that universities are too focused on international ranking and stuck in an old mentality of teaching.
#impACT
It’s time to act. What could everyone do right now to make the world a better place?
“Most of us calculate too much. Give yourself and your team more room for imagination”, Alvin shares.
Follow Alvin’s work here.
You can get more creative this week on Friday, September 15th, with Creative Mornings here in Hong Kong. Alvin will be sharing his wisdom in person at Eaton House.
The changing nature of education and the importance of teaching creativity will be a theme we revisit a few times in this season.
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