EURECA-PRO

I&E Course:
Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship — Social and Rural Ventures

Online course
Universidad de León | 04.05. – 01.06.2026

4 May, 2026
  • Upcoming events

Part of the EURECA-PRO Innovation & Entrepreneurship Programme, this course introduces students to social and rural entrepreneurship through a combination of theoretical insights, practical exercises, and interactive sessions. Structured into seven units across three main parts, it blends video lectures, presentations, live sessions, and guided feedback to give students hands-on experience in transforming real-world challenges into sustainable, purpose-driven ventures.

Three main parts!

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The course begins with social entrepreneurship, exploring its core concepts, its distinction from the public, private, and third sectors, and the triple bottom line approach that integrates economic, social, and environmental impact. Students examine global trends such as the circular economy and B Corps, and learn to identify opportunities by detecting challenges, analysing stakeholders, and applying tools like Design Thinking to develop user-centered solutions. Practical exercises include analysing local social enterprises and proposing innovative solutions.

The second part focuses on rural entrepreneurship, highlighting its unique characteristics and differences from urban contexts. Students explore diverse sectors beyond agriculture and understand institutional support mechanisms, including funding strategies and stakeholder engagement. Workshops provide hands-on experience analysing programs like SIMRA, demonstrating how rural ventures can thrive in context-specific environments.

The final part addresses business models and impact measurement. Students work with the Business Model Canvas and Social Business Model Canvas, explore different social enterprise models, and learn to measure and communicate impact using ESG indicators and standards such as GRI, SASB, and NEIS. Practical exercises guide them in developing their own social business model and defining meaningful impact metrics.

REGISTER here!

Free online course

Spring/Summer Semester | 04.05. – 01.06.2026
Language: English
ECTS: 1
Registration end date: April 20, 2026
Organising Institution: Universidad de León

Course Syllabus: download file.
Course Modules: download file.
Schedule: download file.

Registration procedure: via Moodle!

Daniel Alonso-Martínez, PhD
Professor
University of León (Spain)
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Angel Morán-Muñoz, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of León (Spain)
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Ana Patricia Fanjul
Assistant Professor
University of León (Spain)
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Antonis Papamanolis, PhD
Architect Engineer
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Daniel Alonso-Martínez

Professor

Daniel Alonso-Martínez is Full Professor in Business Management at the University of León (Spain), where he serves as Director of Entrepreneurship and Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) in Castilla y León. He received his PhD in Business Economics with international distinction from the University of León. 

His research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation management, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable business models. He has published in leading international journals such as Journal of Cleaner Production, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, and European Journal of Innovation Management, and has presented his work at major conferences including the Academy of Management and EURAM. I have participated in several European and national research projects on sustainable entrepreneurship and business ecosystems. 

He has been a visiting scholar at institutions such as the University of Groningen, Bocconi University, and the University of Padova, and is actively involved in international academic networks and entrepreneurship initiatives

Angel Morán-Muñoz

Assistant Professor

Angel Morán-Muñoz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Administration at the University of León (Spain). He holds a degree in International Trade and a PhD in Business Economics from the same institution, as well as an MBA in International Business from ICEX (Spain’s public agency for international trade and investment).

With experience in both public and private institutions in Spain and the United States, he has worked professionally in areas such as corporate internationalization, entrepreneurship, business strategy, and corporate sustainability. Since 2022, he has transitioned into academia, where he focuses on research and teaching in the fields of corporate ethics, corporate strategy, and entrepreneurship. During this time, he has participated in different research and teaching projects and published in international peer-reviewed journals, including Corporate Governance: An International Review.

Ana Patricia Fanjul

Assistant Professor

Ana P. Fanjul is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Business Administration of the University of León (Spain). She holds a degree in Economics, Leadership and Governance and a Masters in Economics and Finance, by the University of Navarra, as well as a Masters in Decision Making and Innovation, by the University of Alcalá. 

She has been a visiting scholar at the department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge and has worked at IESE Business School and at the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies. Her research centers on rural entrepreneurship, with a particular interest in how entrepreneurial activity contributes to economic resilience and well-being in rural areas. 

Antonis Papamanolis

Architect Engineer

Antonis Papamanolis is a licensed Architect Engineer and a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece, specializing in Digital Design and Fabrication, Participatory Design, and Design and Project Management. He holds a PhD from the Department of Architecture at the University of Patras, with a research focus on the Pedagogy of Digital Design.

Alongside his private practice as an architect, he has served as Head of the Prototyping Laboratory at the Department of Architecture of the University of Patras, as an external evaluator of European projects for the Chamber of Western Greece, as Assistant Professor at Guglielmo Marconi University in Rome, and as Lab Manager at the Municipal Makerspace of the Municipality of Athens.

He is a researcher at the Project, Infrastructure and City Management Laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Patras, and participates in the coordination team of European projects. During the period 2022–2025, he taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Smart Cities, Digital Twins, as well as introductory courses in microcontrollers and programming, while also supervising diploma theses and postgraduate dissertations.

He is currently a researcher at the Transformable Intelligent Environments Laboratory of the School of Architecture at the Technical University of Crete. His research focuses on the introduction of computational methods and digital media into architecture, Maker Education, and the integration of participatory frameworks into design.