Research fellows of the Institute of Higher Education of the NAES of Ukraine, as co-organizers of the International Spring School “Inclusion, Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship. Social Innovations for Community Development and Youth Engagement”, actively participated in the online sessions of the school from March 17 to 21, 2025.
The attendees, whose daily number reached 245 persons, had the opportunity to get acquainted with the theoretical and practical tools for implementing the third mission of universities and their impact on the development of social processes; gain experience in implementing European practices of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in education; learn about the peculiarities of forming social cohesion in Ukraine through the prism of involving youth and communities; acquire knowledge about social inclusion, its types and actualization in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the involvement of HEIs in these processes in Ukraine; get acquainted with the basis of the social responsibility of universities in overcoming crisis states in society.
The invited foreign speakers at the International Spring School events were Diana Spulber, professor at the University of Genoa, coordinator of the Erasmus+ Program project “UNICOM – Universities – Communities: Strengthening Cooperation”, a European expert from the team of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence “European Studies for Social Innovation in Education” ESSIE, who presented to the attendees a report “European Practices for Implementing the Third Mission of Universities”, and Markus Launer, professor, head of the Institute of Service Management (Germany), who presented to the participants a practice-oriented case “Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship for Communities”.
During the five-day online intensive, a powerful team of researchers from the Institute of Higher Education of the NAES of Ukraine including representatives of:
Department of Interaction between Universities and Society (Olena Orzhel, Dr. Hab. in Public Administration, Associate Professor, Chief Researcher; Nataliya Shofolova, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher);
Department of the Research Activities of Universities (Olga Petroye, Dr. Hab. in Public Administration, Professor, Head of the Department);
Department of Social and Institutional Transformations in Higher Education (Alla Havryliuk, Dr. Hab. in Public Administration, Professor, Head of the Department; Yurii Mielkov, Dr. Hab. in Philosophy, Senior Research Fellow, Chief Researcher)
joined in providing participants of the online sessions with practical tools and theoretical foundations on the topics of the International Spring School.
On the topic of “The Third Mission and Social Impact of Universities for the Development of Society” on the first day of work (March 17), a Round Table was organized and held to discuss educational policies to strengthen the third mission of universities with the participation of experts from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The event was moderated by Olena Orzhel, who also presented a report “Basic Principles of Educational Policies in Crisis Conditions in Society.” Olga Petroye introduced the attendees to the main tools of “Evaluation of the Third Mission of Universities Using the Experience of Italy”.
The second day of the International Spring School (March 18) was dedicated to European practices of social innovation and social entrepreneurship.
The following speakers delivered their reports to the attendees: Nataliya Shofolova, presenting the German experience in “Case FHM: Innovation and Social Development Lemgo-city)”, and Olga Petroe, who spoke about “The Role of Universities as Subjects of Innovation and Socio-Economic Development Using the Case of the University of Latvia”.
The third day of the International Spring School (March 19) covered the topic of social cohesion and the specifics of youth involvement in the processes of interaction between universities and communities.
The following reports were presented on this topic: “The role of the university in ensuring the sustainability and social cohesion of society” (Olena Orzhel) and “Non-formal education as a factor of social cohesion of the community: the experience of the People’s Higher School “Vovchok” in Chernihiv region” (Alla Havryliuk).
The fourth day of the International Spring School (March 20) focused on discussing a wide range of topical issues related to the topic “Social inclusion – universities and community involvement”, and was held in a round table format.
It is important to note that the online session presented the results of the implementation of the social project of the Institute of Higher Education if the NAES of Ukraine “Promoting social inclusion through the involvement of combatants in continuing education”, which is being carried out within the framework of the scientific research of the Department of Interaction between Universities and Society “Social inclusion in higher education in the post-war period”.
The final, fifth day of the International Spring School (March 21) was dedicated to the topic “Social responsibility of universities as a response to societal challenges”.
Yurii Mielkov presented the results of research on the topic “Value foundations of the development of universities in the context of societal challenges”, and also shared the experience of implementing social responsibility at the University of Genoa.
Nataliya Shofolova informed about “Development of innovations as a social responsibility of a university using the example of Lund University, Sweden”.
The first stage of the International Spring School with the participation of a cohort of research fellows from the Institute of Higher Education of the NAES of Ukraine demonstrated a high level of involvement of the team in fundamental research on topics relevant to the sphere of higher education; it testified to the initiation of innovative social projects and the unification of Ukrainian academics, representatives of state authorities and local governments, and public organizations to jointly address important issues of today.
From March 24 to April 18, 2025, the next stages of the International Spring School will continue, which will allow all registered participants to successfully complete their studies and undergo an online internship at the University of Genoa.