Social Entrepreneurship: Community and Innovation in Central Asia
Turn your most creative ideas into action while making a lasting contribution to local communities in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, a bustling city on the modern Silk Road. In this dynamic, project-based program, you’ll learn about local community interests and aspirations, and work with Central Asian peers to design impactful new products that address real-world challenges. Along the way, you’ll build valuable skills in business planning, product design, cross-cultural understanding, and leadership while developing lasting connections to your host community
Hosted by the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), this extraordinary program empowers students to design, create, and launch products that make meaningful contributions to the growth of local communities in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. While studying the concepts of Social Entrepreneurship and Design Thinking, participants work with local students in small teams to learn about daily life in Bishkek and to design new products that address specific community needs. Working in the AUCA Makerspace, students then create and refine actual prototypes of the product they’ve conceived, develop a sustainability plan for production and marketing, and create a business pitch to be delivered before local experts and potential investors.
This program is ideal for students interested in such fields as business, community and urban development, economics, sociology, and entrepreneurship. In addition to rigorous semester academic coursework in Central Asian Studies, Design Thinking, and Social Entrepreneurship, it provides precisely the hands-on, professional experience most in demand by today’s employers, including problem-solving, leadership, communication, teamwork, and adaptability.
A major emphasis of the program is community engagement: students must be prepared to actively participate in dialogue with local people to learn about their lives and challenges; to consider productive, sustainable strategies that strengthen their host community; and to think empathetically about people whose beliefs and perspectives reflect a history and culture unlike their own.
Program Features
Offered in
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Available during
Fall and
Spring terms.
15-20 hours per week of courses on Social Entrepreneurship, Design Thinking, and Central Asia Today, taught in English by American University of Central Asia (AUCA) faculty; optional Russian or Kyrgyz language study is also provided as part of the program.
Housing with
carefully-selected, experienced host families who provide two meals per day.
Weekly excursions led by U.S. resident directors in and around Bishkek designed to broaden students’ understanding of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. Destinations typically include local bazaars, schools, start-up businesses, and universities, as well as Ala Too Square, the Kyrgyz National Opera and Ballet Theater, the State History Museum, and Burana Tower.
Students
travel to Almaty, Kazakhstan for an extended weekend.
Participants earn
15-16 U.S. academic credits per semester through Bryn Mawr College.
Comprehensive health, accident, and evacuation insurance for all participants abroad.
Financial Aid
Financial aid from American Councils is available for Social Entrepreneurship: Community and Innovation in Central Asia. Please visit our
Financial Aid page to learn more about available scholarships.
Eligibility Requirements
Minimum 2.7 GPA
At least 18 years old by application deadline
Application Deadlines
Fall programs: March 15
Spring programs: October 15
Interested in learning more?
Complete program information, including an online application, is available on the
Social Entrepreneurship: Community and Innovation in Central Asia website.
Check out our
Facebook and
Instagram for photos and stories from program participants!
Questions?
Contact American Councils at
outbound@americancouncils.org.
