Connecting Communities
The Musa and Khaleda Dakri Center for Economic Inclusion (CEI) will champion a model of experiential education that is proven to transform both university students and community entrepreneurs. This model was developed over the last decade through the work of the SURE℠ Program. The CEI will take the lessons learned and apply them more broadly across a range of programs for students and community entrepreneurs by: (1) developing greater depth and breadth of courses associated with the model, (2) scaling the model to other educational institutions and (3) conducting cutting edge research on the intersection of small business, education, and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). This work is fully aligned with and supported by the Bauer College's Strategic Plan and the University of Houston's Quality Enhancement Plan.
Mission
The Dakri Center for Economic Inclusion combines experiential education, rigorous academic research, and real-world expertise for two purposes: to train university students in human-centered skills and economically empower under-resourced entrepreneurs.
Center Goals
- Brainstorming to Bankrolling: Flagship one-semester course where students guide community entrepreneurs through writing a business plan and pitching for funding
- Cougar Professional Skills Clinic: Program where graduate and undergraduate students teach community members basic skills needed in a professional workplace
- Experiential Learning Business Skills Course Lab: Students and entrepreneurs who have participated in the flagship course continue working together on deeper, domain-specific issues across business disciplines
- Higher Education Economic Inclusion Consortium: Educational institutions from across the globe collaborate and share best practices on economic inclusion
- Certificate in Social Innovation: A graduate distinction for Bauer students who want to show mastery of this popular and growing discipline
- Design Thinking and Beyond: A unique systems thinking course that empowers students to create change in their businesses and communities
Stimulating Urban Renewal Through Entrepreneurship, or SURESM, is a unique
multi-sided program at the University of Houston's C. T. Bauer College of Business.
