Project Details
Description
The main purpose behind the idea to create and implement the Building the Culture of Social Innovation in Higher Education project was to lay new development paths for European higher education institutions (HEIs) in social sciences and change the current paradigm of teaching entrepreneurship at HEIs.
There are currently approximately 840 MA programmes and approximately 200 BA programmes in social sciences offered by European universities and the demand for courses in social sciences is on a steady rise (www.masterstudies.com). Higher education institutions play a significant role in shaping a new generation of social entrepreneurs prepared and driven to solve problems of a dynamically evolving and dangerous world. However, they encounter numerous obstacles, most importantly a lack of a coherent vision for social innovation and a lack of academic staff. Project activities addressed the needs of Central European students, which had been defined through surveys, by implementing social innovation at HEIs through means including: increasing the flexibility of learning pathways, including courses taught by students in their curricula and using massive open online courses (MOOCs).
The BCSI project was implemented in a partner consortium that consisted of 4 organisations, including 3 HEIs, namely Collegium Civitas (Poland), the University of Northampton (UK), the University of Iceland (Iceland), and the organisation Ashoka (Poland). The project has THREE ESSENTIAL GOALS:
1. To support the implementation of social innovation at European universities (mainly in Central Europe) through developing and mainstreaming useful instruments that respond to the needs of HEIs such as model curricula, step-by-step guides, instructional videos and source books
2. To change the model of teaching entrepreneurship by making it more practical and student-oriented through the development, testing and implementation of flexible and project-oriented learning pathways
3. To include and promote quality e-learning courses through the development and dissemination of a MOOC in SI design
There are currently approximately 840 MA programmes and approximately 200 BA programmes in social sciences offered by European universities and the demand for courses in social sciences is on a steady rise (www.masterstudies.com). Higher education institutions play a significant role in shaping a new generation of social entrepreneurs prepared and driven to solve problems of a dynamically evolving and dangerous world. However, they encounter numerous obstacles, most importantly a lack of a coherent vision for social innovation and a lack of academic staff. Project activities addressed the needs of Central European students, which had been defined through surveys, by implementing social innovation at HEIs through means including: increasing the flexibility of learning pathways, including courses taught by students in their curricula and using massive open online courses (MOOCs).
The BCSI project was implemented in a partner consortium that consisted of 4 organisations, including 3 HEIs, namely Collegium Civitas (Poland), the University of Northampton (UK), the University of Iceland (Iceland), and the organisation Ashoka (Poland). The project has THREE ESSENTIAL GOALS:
1. To support the implementation of social innovation at European universities (mainly in Central Europe) through developing and mainstreaming useful instruments that respond to the needs of HEIs such as model curricula, step-by-step guides, instructional videos and source books
2. To change the model of teaching entrepreneurship by making it more practical and student-oriented through the development, testing and implementation of flexible and project-oriented learning pathways
3. To include and promote quality e-learning courses through the development and dissemination of a MOOC in SI design
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/12/15 → 30/06/18 |
Collaborative partners
- University of Northampton
- Collegium Civitas (lead)
- Haskoli Islands
- Towarzystwo Inicjatyw Tworczych
- Ashoka Innowatorzy dla Dobra Publicznego
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