Business Innovation and Technology for Social Change

SiNY 56: Changemakers in Action - Business Innovation and Technology for Social Change - 7 units (includes seminar and community partner work)
Attention Changemakers! Are you ready to apply your Stanford education to create real-world change? Do you want to work with innovative entrepreneurs in one of the most exciting cities in the world to help solve some of the most pressing challenges in our society? This course offers you the opportunity to merge academic learning with hands-on, community-based experiences to drive meaningful impact. If you’re frustrated by the disparities you see in the world and want to be part of the solution, this is the class for you.
Course Overview
This course challenges students to use the innovation mindset that Stanford is known for to address complex global problems like poverty, inequality, and climate change. By focusing on the socio-economic disparities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ll explore how new business models, entrepreneurship, and technology can address issues like economic mobility, healthcare access, affordable housing and food security. Using New York City as a living laboratory, students will work alongside leading social innovators, policymakers, and community organizations to apply a multidisciplinary approach, grounded in real-world data, to evaluate systems, challenge assumptions, and implement sustainable solutions.
Students from all disciplines are welcome—whether or not you have a background in technology or entrepreneurship. What matters most is your willingness to think critically, be bold, and take a hands-on approach to social innovation.
Class will meet twice a week, and students will be expected to work with the selected community partner (see below) about 2½ days a week. This track closely integrates learnings from this class with hands-on work with a community partner. Students will receive 7 units of credit for both the course and the integrated community work, as well as Cardinal Quarter credit, and will enroll in two additional Spring quarter SiNY electives.
Please note: Students who take this course will not enroll in The New York City Seminar and will not do a typical SiNY internship but will work with the community partner through this class.
Course Objectives
- Analyze Socio-Economic Challenges: Use NYC as a case study to examine social and economic disparities and evaluate policy and business initiatives aimed at tackling these issues.
- Explore Alternative Solutions: Investigate how emerging technologies, innovative business models, and community-based approaches can address large-scale problems like poverty, healthcare access, and economic mobility.
- Develop Solutions: Support students in crafting innovative and financially sustainable solutions to a social problem, informed by data and real-world interactions.
Potential Community Partners and Real-World Applications (pending)
- New York City FC, City in the Community Foundation: Students may collaborate with the Foundation, which leverages soccer and entertainment to promote community development through education, mentorship, and youth programs. With NYC’s first soccer-specific stadium being developed in Willets Point, Queens, students will work with the Foundation on initial plans to develop an innovation center using sports and technology to support local entrepreneurship, workforce development, and economic opportunity in the predominantly working-class, immigrant surrounding neighborhood. City in the Community is the philanthropic arm of New York City FC, an American professional soccer team that competes in Major League Soccer.
- Communitas America: Partnering with Communitas America, students will work directly with social entrepreneurs in NYC who are addressing issues in education, wellness, art, and food security. These entrepreneurs are working at the intersection of social impact and business, providing a unique opportunity for students to engage in real-world problem-solving, including community research, refining business models, developing strategic growth plans, and addressing challenges in scaling impact.
Course Structure
- Classroom Sessions: Discussions and analysis based on course materials, case studies, guest lectures from industry experts and experiences working with the community partner.
- Community-Based Learning Experiences: Work with NYC community partner organizations to apply classroom learnings above to the real world.
Course Topics Include
- The Opportunity: How has innovation created social change?
- The Problem: NYC analyzed- what’s happening here today?
- The Process: How do we start addressing large social/economic challenges?
- Landscape Analysis: Business and social change
- Homing in on the problem and developing your theory of change
- Testing solutions & getting user feedback
- Business Models
- The role of technology
- The potential and perils of Web 3.0
Outcome
By the end of the course, students will not only understand the key socio-economic challenges facing NYC but will also have the opportunity to develop and present financially sustainable, innovative solutions to these issues. This course will provide a unique blend of theory and practice, allowing students to see the real-world impact of their academic work.
Call to Action
This is not just a course—it’s a movement. Prepare to think critically, act boldly, and be part of a new generation of changemakers. You’ll leave this class with the skills, knowledge, and networks to continue making a difference in the world long after you leave Stanford.
This course fulfills the Social Inquiry (SI) WAYS requirement.
Meet the Instructor(s)
Karen Bhatia

Karen Bhatia is a lawyer, policymaker and entrepreneur helping businesses and economies grow. She is currently a Lecturer at Stanford University teaching about the role of business model innovation and technology for economic development and is a Visiting Practitioner at Cornell Tech, advising graduate students as they start and scale startup businesses. She previously led tech strategy at the NYC Economic Development Corporation, overseeing a $200+ Million portfolio of approximately 30 tech and entrepreneurship projects. This includes developing NYC's blockchain strategy, launching the first publicly-funded Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Lab in the US, leading New York City's strategy to develop a Center for Responsible Artificial Intelligence and expanding affordable broadband access to poor neighborhoods in NYC. During her tenure leading tech, NYC was the #2 city for tech entrepreneurship in the world.
As an attorney, Karen worked in the Capital Markets practice group of a Wall Street law firm, helping companies raise financing through debt offerings and IPOs. She was also the principal of her own law firm advising startups on corporate issues, financing and overall business strategy. As an entrepreneur, Karen founded ActionCam, an educational platform aggregating reliable sources on policy issues, even before trust in media was an issue. Karen also founded Stanford Startups NY, a business network of 1000+ Stanford entrepreneurs and investors in the region. She is an advisor to several tech organizations and Vice Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Mott Hall, a public middle school in the South Bronx, NYC. Karen has a Bachelor's degree from Stanford University, a Master's degree in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University Law School.
Student Testimonials
I had the privilege of taking an independent study with Karen at Stanford in New York, and she has been one of the most influential mentors throughout my journey and invaluable as I navigated my own entrepreneurial path.
One of the things I appreciate most about her is her ability to bridge the gap between theory and real-world application. Karen excels at helping you think through complex challenges, but even more importantly, she guides you to practical, implementable solutions. Whether we were discussing strategic pivots or creative problem-solving around community engagement, Karen constantly pushed me to refine my thinking and focus on tangible outcomes. Her ability to help students transform theoretical knowledge into meaningful impact is what will make this program so powerful.
- Phoebe Gates, Autumn & Winter 2023-24