Abstract:

The aim of this paper is twofold: on the one hand to map and assess the current educational offers on social innovation in Greece and on the other to provide critical insights on the genealogy of concepts and academic disciplines upon which Social Innovation (SI) curricula in the Greek context are built. In this context social innovation is seen as “a new, more effective, efficient and sustainable solution to a social problem, for which the value created emerge for the society as a whole and not for individuals” (Phills, Deiglmeier & Miller 2008).

The introduction of S.I.as part of the universities curricula in Greece has been related to the development of social and solidarity economy sector in the previous decade. Thus, the blooming of bottom up social economy endeavors in the early years of the 2010s, a direct result of the 2008 financial crisis, has been followed by the first short-lived attempts to introduce social innovation in the Academic contexts. In the current decade, there seems to be an active trend attempting to re-establish S.I. education and research in University Programs as educational institutions seem to recognize the importance of SI in promoting sustainable development and fostering inclusive learning environments. This trend is reflected in the National Action Plan on Social Economy and Social Innovation (2023) that recognises the decisive role of Academic Institutions in creating curricula capable of actively promoting SI.

By presenting five different SI programs in Greek tertiary education we intend to bring forward the theoretical premises and practical repercussions of the development of SI in Greece pointing both at where it crosscuts with and diverges from an international perspective on SI. In this context we identify the merits and the gaps of the aforementioned programs in order to sketch out possible paths forward. More specifically we point at the need for Academic Institutions to work with local communities and stakeholders creating networks that are able to a) define theoretically societal problems b) devise innovative solutions and c) initiate structural change.

Keywords:

Social innovation, tertiary education, curricula.