Innovation for Humanity

man spraying water on a field with a hose

Celebrating Innovation for Humanity

In 2020, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School concluded ten years of Innovation for Humanity projects.

From 2010-2020 Innovation for Humanity was a required course for a full-time MBA. Students gained first-hand experience in emerging economies tackling complex problems in unfamiliar contexts.

Impact

Through Innovation for Humanity, colloquially referred to as I4H, students have traveled the globe and helped 84 project sponsors evaluate, refine, grow, and improve their businesses. Students returned from their projects with new project management, client interaction, and creative problem-solving skills.

  • 10 years
  • 179 projects
  • 770 students
  • 7 countries: U.S., Rwanda, India, Peru, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Kenya
  • 84 project sponsors. Examples: King Faisal Hospital (Rwanda); Colorado Children’s Hospital, LV Prasad Eye Institute (India); Hospital San Juan de Lurigancho (Peru); Ignite Solar (Rwanda); Enviroserve (Rwanda); Catholic Relief Services (Ethiopia and Peru); Hospital dos los Valles (Ecuador); Next Wealth (India); Kenya Red Cross Society (Kenya); Naandi Foundation (India)
  • Industries: Health Care, Renewable Energy, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Microfinance, Nonprofit, Governmental, Education, Consumer Goods, Infrastructure, and Community Development

“I spent many years before coming to Carey working in client-facing settings. I thought it would be a breeze to do the same with our client in Rwanda, but it turned out to be a huge and rewarding challenge. Cultural, economic, and language differences are hard to learn in a classroom and can only be taught by actually interacting on site. I can definitely say I feel much more prepared to work on a project internationally, with various scopes.”

Innovation for Humanity student in Rwanda, spring 2020

Looking to the future

Carey Business School faculty and staff took lessons gained from ten years of running the course to develop the revised MBA learning model. This new model is an intentional, sequential course structure built to prepare business students for the complex challenges they will face throughout their careers.

As part of the new curriculum, all full-time MBA students participate in the new flagship course, Innovation Field Project.

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