The students at NYU Stern School of Business were up for a treat last week as co-founder of Refugees United, Christopher Mikkelsen, guest lectured at their University. “The lecture at NYU was interesting as it bridged the knowledge of technology students in New York with the realities of the millions of people we help in some of the poorest places on earth.” Says Christopher Mikkelsen “Hopefully the students took away not only a sense of our work to reconnect families, but a deeper understanding of people so different from them”

The lecture revolved around the prospects that the ever-increasing social connectivity offers social entrepreneurs, exemplified by a presentation of Refugees United’s mission. As a tech non-profit, Refugees United has harnessed the power of social connectivity through mobile technology to help reconnect families separated by war. Through a mobile phone based platform used by both individuals and NGOs, Refugees United is helping refugee families to reconnect.

We hope the lecture has inspired some of the bright minds at NYU Stern to explore the possibilities of social entrepreneurship as a tool to tackling some of today’s challenges.