Nepal Communiversity, KU Partner to Launch Master’s Degree in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Nepal Communiversity has signed a partnership agreement with Kathmandu University (KU) to launch a Master’s degree programme in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MSIE). The initiative seeks to redefine Nepal’s education landscape by offering a programme that is highly contextual to the current needs of the country and its youth.

The programme has been designed so that students learn beyond classrooms and traditional lecturing methods. Instead, they will travel, immerse, reside, and study across Nepal’s mountainous, hilly, and Tarai regions.

“With the community-as-curriculum model, students will travel and spend 10 weeks, one trimester each, in the Tarai, pahad, and himal regions, engaging directly with local communities, social enterprises, and grassroots initiatives, gaining first-hand exposure to Nepal’s diverse socio-economic realities,” the statement issued following the agreement said.

Learning from the community will be academically linked through interdisciplinary courses. Students will take these courses in each region, covering entrepreneurship, social sciences, technology, community-based projects, and holistic development.

The final semester will allow students to consolidate and implement their learning through one of four tracks: academic research, entrepreneurship to build a venture, industry engagement as a student consultant, or a global track as an exchange student at an international institution, the statement added.

To support students’ growth, the programme will collaborate with Nepali diaspora members as mentors, alongside local industry and community representatives as domain experts.

During the signing ceremony, Kathmandu University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Achyut Wagle highlighted the need for such academic programmes. He said the educational journey itself should guide students to understand the geographical and social realities of different parts of the country.

Similarly, KU School of Arts Dean Dr Uddhab Pyakurel said almost every master’s programme at the school includes strong fieldwork, along with a two-week intensive rural internship. “But this will be unique, as all academic activities across at least three trimesters are designed to be completed while living in the Himal, Pahad and Tarai, offering a rare opportunity to experience the social realities of these regions,” the statement quoted Pyakurel as saying.

Nepal Communiversity President Narottam Aryal said the MSIE is a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary master’s degree, drawing courses from social sciences, technology, and entrepreneurship. “By the end of the programme, students will be able to reflect deeply on themselves, analyse socio-political and economic dynamics, gain technical skills, and develop an entrepreneurial mindset,” he said.

The Master’s degree programme is scheduled to launch in October 2026. It targets aspiring changemakers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, researchers, and graduates from diverse academic backgrounds. The programme also invites partners from industry, academia, government, communities, and the Nepali diaspora to collaborate.

Nepal Communiversity brings experience rooted in research and community-immersive pilot programmes, with a focus on social innovation and entrepreneurship. Kathmandu University will provide academic oversight, quality assurance, and a strong academic foundation. By combining their strengths, the institutions aim to deliver an innovative, immersive, practical, and rigorous degree programme, the statement said.