“In retrospect, one of the greatest things of my oikos days (2007-2011 St. Gallen) was the community of fellow oikees with similar values and dreams for changing society. I am sure that without this peer support, I would not have gone the journey to become (social) entrepreneur and co-found Impact Hub Zürich (with 2 fellow oikees ;)). Impact Hub is a global community of 80+ local incubators for social change.
I am still regularly in touch with oikos alumni and so many do not find a meaningful career and miss the community support to make such a path happen. Since I am convinced there are many people out there who are looking for a meaningful career but lack the means to get there, I am currently starting a new venture in the area of executive/post-graduate education (think MBA alternative).
With STRIDE – unSchool for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which I am starting with another oikos alumnus (Björn Müller), we have created a one year part-time learning program that enables people to reinvent their career. Instead of doing case studies, the class actually founds a real entrepreneurial venture that tackles a large societal challenge. The learning happens around the experience of actually creating something new, in a community of changemakers. In this short video (see below) I share our learning philosophy and tell my story, including a very prominent role for oikos :). In short, I sometimes feel I have come full circle. Taking the best I got from oikos and proving this path to others well.
Thanks oikos!”
