About Us

The Social Innovation Lab, supported by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurships, promotes social innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives on campus. We empower leaders to develop and bring their ideas to life, all aimed at creating a better world.

Our Programs

• CGST205 – Introduction to Global Engagement (Fall’24)

• CSPL420 – Seeding Impact: System Thinking for Social Change (Spring’25)

Courses

The Social Innovation Lab was founded in 2024 by Sun Boonbhati ’26, Sida Chu ’26, and Valensia Tandeas ’26, all Freeman Scholars from Southeast Asia. The three first collaborated on a project addressing child marriage in Indonesia for Oxford’s Systems Thinking Competition. Inspired by the knowledge and experiences they gained, they decided to create a space on campus that foster social innovation.

Map The System Finalist

Wyna Hermawan, Marcus Leong, and Miho Yamashita will be representing Wesleyan in Oxford's Map The System Competition this upcoming July.

Their project discusses the dual crisis of rapid land subsidence and widespread water scarcity in Jakarta. This issue threatens the city’s infrastructure, economy, and public health. Their research analyzes the causes of both Jakarta’s land subsidence and water depletion by reviewing the challenge landscape, critique existing solutions, and propose potential interventions.

Other Finalists

Socioeconomic Barriers to Educational Access in Lagos

Naomi Ivie, Kaya Waltzer, Amber Bretz

Systems Thinking Resources

Map The System Class Slides