The SIFE Program

With the support and encouragement of their faculty advisors and a local business advisory board, SIFE students in New Zealand apply business concepts to develop community outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need

SIFE teams’ projects address a variety of topics:

• Market Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Success Skills
• Financial Literacy
• Environmental Sustainability
• Business Ethics

Rather than mandating a uniform set of projects, teams are encouraged to work within the framework of these topics while adapting their approach to the diverse needs of people in different communities. The result is a program that is global in scope and purpose with the flexibility and responsiveness of a community-based organization.

The projects developed by teams should do one of two things: directly educate and/or create a learning opportunity for a particular group. For example, organising a workshop for young mothers on setting up a child care business would be a project that educated directly. Such a project could be conducted with original material created by the team or with material produced by another party. The actual working sessions could even be carried out by an outside expert, such as a business adviser from your community. The important point is that the students are responsible for making it happen.

If the project is not designed to educate directly, then it should create a learning opportunity – an experience that provides others with the chance to gain a more thorough understanding of an idea or concept related to at least one of the four areas mentioned above. For example, organising a business plan competition at your institution for students who have an interest in entrepreneurship, and then awarding the winning student money to start his or her own business would be a project that created an opportunity for institution students to learn more about entrepreneurship.