CA18236 - Multi-disciplinary innovation for social change (SHIINE)

In an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world, traditional disciplinary approaches to

the framing and resolution of social and economic problems deliver ever diminishing returns.

Discussions abound, therefore, about how best to educate and prepare graduates for the fresh

challenges of the 21st century.

Knowledge Alliances between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and enterprises which aim

to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, employability, knowledge exchange and/or

multidisciplinary teaching and learning are therefore becoming increasingly necessary and

relevant. The challenge is to determine what we should teach in the future and how it should

be taught. The changing nature of contemporary society highlights that social issues are often

highly complex and multifaceted.

The aim of this Action is to demonstrate, through the adoption of Multi-Disciplinary Innovation

(MDI) methods, how we can respond to social problems with a design-led approach which has

a problem-oriented ethos, supporting positive social change and the development of

international public policy discourse. It will be achieved through the establishment of a Pan-

European Public Sector Innovation (ePSI) lab. It will prepare students for roles in employment

by integrating education programmes into the lab’s operations and it will support agencies that

have a role in responding to and developing public policy.