IN FOCUS - The Role of Higher Education in developing and fostering Social Innovation

In preparation for the IAU Global Meeting of Associations 6, this issue - IAU Horizons, 21, 1 - offers reports on IAU priority areas, new projects and initiatives, especially LGEU, and upcoming events and conferences.
By Hilligje van’t Land. The Role of Higher Education in developing and fostering Social Innovation
Universities are at the heart of knowledge generation, it fosters and values curiosity and critical thinking - or at least should do so; they trigger research, and contribute in essence to the improvement and well-being of societies: they foster innovation and social innovation.
Yet how do they do it? This is the theme of the IAU GMA6 to take place in Montreal in May: Social innovation: challenges and perspectives for higher education.
Definitions of the concept vary, but all focus on its ‘innovative’ dimension by insisting on the association of the concept with ‘new’ knowledge generation, provision of ‘new’ solutions to address ‘new’ and less new but more pressing societal problems; definitions also insist on the fact that social innovation provides ‘better’ answers, financially ‘more’ sound (read ‘less costly’) ‘more’ efficient, ‘more’ sustainable etc. Better, cheaper and now finally providing the real answers society is waiting for? As if solutions to societal problems were not sought by HEIs earlier on? No; but what the papers show is how social innovation is associated with change of mission and vision of higher education more broadly speaking. It is associated with new approaches to how universities used to do what they are supposed to do: teach, educate, research, manage; authors insist on the ‘synergetic’ and cooperative approaches to these. Download IAU Horizons, 21, 1.