Distinguished Professor Dr Meena Galliara from NMIMS University, Mumbai, India will deliver an open lecture on "Social Entrepreneurship: The Case of India"

Dr. Meena Galliara, Professor and Chair of Social Entrepreneurship at NMIMS

University in Mumbai, India, will be visiting AUEB to give a series of

lectures within the framework of the course "The Entrepreneurial Journey" to

the International MBA students. In addition to the course lectures, Dr.

Galliara will be delivering an open lecture, entitled "Social

entrepreneurship: The case of India". Social entrepreneurship refers to a

particular point of view of entrepreneurship, focusing on innovative

entrepreneurial activities to solve immediate social problems. This can be

achieved through a number of ways, from combining management and operations

in commercial enterprises with their resulting social impacts, to innovating

for social impact or still to catalyzing social transformation well beyond

the social problems that are the initial focus of concern.

In India there is a strong belief that all three approaches to social

entrepreneurship have considerable utility and India has been recognized

internationally for being host of leading social entrepreneurs. These

experiences will be illustrated in the presentation with the help of a

number of case studies including: a) Excel Industries, a pioneer in the area

of crop protection chemicals, whose Environment and Biotech Division is

deeply engaged in sustainable management of urban environment and

agriculture, b) Agrocel, another chemical company that presents front-line

approaches to eco-production and fair trade, and c) Mahila Milan, a

citizens' initiative of community organization and micro-entrepreneurship

that received award by the United Nations for success in Human Rights

initiatives. The cases will specifically focus on social entrepreneurship

that have created innovative solutions to immediate social problems, and

which have led to mobilization of ideas, capacities, resources and social

arrangements required for long-term sustainability. These cases present

innovative efforts to solve persistent social problems of poverty and

marginalization. To some extent they have been successful in scaling up

their impacts for catalyzing social transformation.

Dr. Meena Galliara holds a Master's Degree in Social Welfare Administration

from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and her doctoral research is in the

area of Social Responsibility of the Corporate Sector towards Community

Development. She is also a recipient of the International Fellowship of the

Government of Netherlands. Prior to joining SVKM's NMIMS University, she was

a full time faculty member of the Department of Social Welfare

Administration, Tata Institute of Social Sciences. In 1999-2000 she received

a fellowship from Business and Community Foundation, which is the Indian arm

of the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum, London. As an outcome of this

fellowship she has published a manual titled 'Sahaveeryam': Manual for

Managing and Sustaining Sustainable Partnerships amongst Cross Sectors. She

is actively involved with the NGO sector in Maharashtra, India, and has also

conducted innovative field action action projects in the area of management

of rural entrepreneurship through self-help groups. Her major research work

has been in the area of political empowerment of women at the grass roots

and exploring cross-cultural issues affecting business and community

development. In 2004-2005, Dr. Galliara was adjudged as the Best Faculty of

NMIMS. In recognition of her efforts in teaching, research, training and

consultancy to NGOs, the Bombay Management Association conferred the Best

Faculty Award to her in July 2005. In 2007, she designed the Part-Time MBA

Program in Social Entrepreneurship for which NMIMS won the prestigious

'Social Innovation Golden Peacock Award' in January 2008.

Dr. Galliara's talk is co-sponsored by the Embassy of India in Greece. The

Rector of AUEB, Professor Gregory Prastacos and the Ambassador of India, Mr.

Dilip Sinha will be attending the lecture and will be addressing the

audience.