Changemaker at the University of Northampton

The University is committed to social innovation and as a result of years of development in the field of Social Entrepreneurship the University of Northampton became a Changemaker Campus in 2013.  Changemaker Campuses form a global network of entrepreneurial students, faculties and community leaders who provide inspiration, connections and support to broaden the reach and impact of social innovation around the world, with the aim of making the world a better place to be.

Simply put – Changemaking is about:

“Spotting a social or environmental problem, and having the skills and grit to do something about it.”

With this in mind, The Changemaker Hub creates the space for students to explore social innovation, develop new ideas, gain valuable work experience, meet employers, explore the changing world of work and prepares students for life after University.

What does this mean for the University of Northampton?

Our University Strategy is to Transform Lives and Inspire Change. We can achieve this through our outstanding teaching and research, the experience we provide for our students and the strategic partnerships we create.  Four Changemaker Challenges have been developed to focus the Universities activity to create really impact within the local community.

Changemaker Challenges:

• Education
• Health & Wellbeing
• Heritage & Culture
• Business & Enterprise

Changemaker means that as an institution we are committed to a set of values.  We believe that as Changemakers we:

• Live responsibly
• Work collaboratively
• Are resourceful
• Practice empathy
• Are true to personal values

In short, we develop our students to ‘do the right things, in the right way, with the right people, for the right reasons”.

Being a Changemaker Campus means that we provide:

• Experiential learning – experiences that help students understand more about the world around them and how this connects to their studies and future.  Experiences come in all sorts of forms; volunteering, work based learning, global exchange programmes, exploring enterprise and social innovation and much more.
• Changemaker events – opportunities to explore Changemaking on campus and in the community. Meet and network with other inspirational changemakers and people from industry.
• Embedded learning – an award-winning concept of embedding Employability and Changemaker into the curriculum for an innovative learning experience that combines social innovation, Changemaker and active blended learning with subject specific knowledge.
• Employability through Changemaking – an award-winning employability service that helps to join the dots, provides a platform to capture student development, opportunities for paid work, an award to celebrate successes and support to help students understand how Changemaker activities connect with future graduate employability.

Visit our Become a Changemaker page for more information on this process.