For MBAs at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business who are passionate about creating a better world through business, it can be hard finding internships with social enterprises and nonprofits. Many of these organizations lack the budget to pay MBAs competitively, which often deters efforts to recruit MBAs.

As part of a multi-disciplinary, international consulting practicum offered by the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, ten graduate students ventured to Sri Lanka in May 2014 to spend three weeks consulting with small business owners and government agencies.  Students in this practicum, called Facilitating Economic Growth in Sri Lanka, were funded by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) while working as consultants on USAID-funded projects.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The University of Maryland had a younger look on May 2, 2014, when nearly 200 fourth- and fifth-graders visited the Smith School of Business for Career Day. The children, from Broad Acres Elementary School in nearby Silver Spring, Md., met a sportswriter, astronomer, 3D animator, police officer and many other professionals. 

Riggs Alumni Center was full of passion and energy at the third annual Do Good Challenge. Students Helping Honduras and justlikeyou.org were the two winners of the night, each winning $6,000. Students Helping Honduras also won the Audience Choice Award, a $2,500 text-to-vote prize sponsored by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Both Students Helping Honduras and justlikeyou.org are led by undergraduates at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Pratik Dixit BS ’13 (finance, information systems) could have chosen a glamorous study-abroad locale such as Amsterdam, Dubai or Paris. Instead, he jumped at a 12-day consulting opportunity in rural Nicaragua. Calling it a “perfect blend of service and business,” Dixit says, “Having this experience on my resume helped me say I’ve done real consulting work. … Companies are very impressed by that.” Deloitte evidently was — Dixit has been working there as a consultant since graduation.

The University of Maryland offers a set of “Fearless Ideas” courses through its Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (AIE), a signature initiative to infuse the university with a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across all colleges, building on the institution's excellence as a research university. The Robert H. Smith School of Business will offer four Fearless Ideas courses in fall 2014:

On March 28, 2014, at the North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda, Md., students, faculty and business professionals met for the third annual Smith School Business Summit.  This year’s theme looked at innovation as an essential building block for the prosperity and survival of corporations. With more than 600 registered attendants, it was the largest Summit yet.

The Center for Social Value Creation at the Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted the 6th Annual Social Enterprise Symposium on March 7, 2014. Here are seven inspiring quotes from a day filled with meaningful messages about creating a better world through business. 

What could be accomplished if anything was possible, and we used our unique talents to forge fearlessly forward – without ever holding back? This was the idea behind each of the sessions at the 6th Annual Social Enterprise Symposium that took place on March 7, 2014 in the Stamp Student Union. Sponsored by the Center for Social Value Creation (CSVC) at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, this year’s theme was: “Don’t hold back.”

On Friday, March 7, 2013, the Center for Social Value Creation at the Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted the 6th annual Social Enterprise Symposium (SES). Terrapin Impact: Lessons from UMD, one of eight breakout sessions during SES, was an hour-long panel and discussion about what entrepreneurs are doing on campus to create social value at the University of Maryland and beyond.