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Commonly, social innovation is defined as new ideas proposals to the needs of humans. However, there is a lack of a well-definition comprehensive leading the fragmentation of field research. On the other hand, the contribution of universities for social innovation development is still less investigated. In this sense, this study intends to explore interrelations between universities and social innovation in relation to different lines of investigation employed. For this, a content analysis was applied to results obtained by Cunha et al. [1]. Five categories of analysis were defined. Findings revealed that there are a number of studies that applied qualitative research to investigate practical examples of social innovation inside of universities and few empirical studies. A link among keywords social innovation, higher education, and social entrepreneurship was found. Furthermore, the analysis showed that there is not a leader country but a distribution across several countries, where Spain and United Kingdom stand out. Thus, this result suggests that it would be helpful to develop an instrument to measure academics’ engagement with social innovation research and practice. In addition, this research contributes to current knowledge regarding the role of universities in social innovation model, providing new theoretical and practical insights of investigation.

Commonly, social innovation is defined as new ideas proposals to the needs of humans. However, there is a lack of a well-definition comprehensive leading the fragmentation of field research. On the other hand, the contribution of universities for social innovation development is still less investigated. In this sense, this study intends to explore interrelations between universities and social innovation in relation to different lines of investigation employed. For this, a content analysis was applied to results obtained by Cunha et al. [1]. Five categories of analysis were defined. Findings revealed that there are a number of studies that applied qualitative research to investigate practical examples of social innovation inside of universities and few empirical studies. A link among keywords social innovation, higher education, and social entrepreneurship was found. Furthermore, the analysis showed that there is not a leader country but a distribution across several countries, where Spain and United Kingdom stand out. Thus, this result suggests that it would be helpful to develop an instrument to measure academics’ engagement with social innovation research and practice. In addition, this research contributes to current knowledge regarding the role of universities in social innovation model, providing new theoretical and practical insights of investigation.

This study analyses the importance of teaching social entrepreneurship in state universities. A survey was applied to university students to find out if personality traits are related to the characteristics of social entrepreneurship. This was achieved through Alpha Cronbach and Pearson/Spearman correlation analysis. The results show that students have the personality traits to become social entrepreneurs. However, social entrepreneurship courses are not taught in universities of Tijuana city. Therefore, it is strongly suggested to teach social entrepreneurship in universities of the city and the state because students possess social entrepreneurship traits and are interested in the subject.

This study analyses the importance of teaching social entrepreneurship in state universities. A survey was applied to university students to find out if personality traits are related to the characteristics of social entrepreneurship. This was achieved through Alpha Cronbach and Pearson/Spearman correlation analysis. The results show that students have the personality traits to become social entrepreneurs. However, social entrepreneurship courses are not taught in universities of Tijuana city. Therefore, it is strongly suggested to teach social entrepreneurship in universities of the city and the state because students possess social entrepreneurship traits and are interested in the subject.

Although social innovation is an old paradigm, social innovation courses appeared in the curricula in the approximately last ten years. By doing so educational institutions acknowledged the existence of new approaches to obstacles that the world is facing. The courses regarding the social innovations give the students valuable knowledge and skills related to solving different social problems, increasing the motivation for being active in the society, and raising awareness about specific topics that need attention. An important role in implementing social innovation have ICT technologies. The role of the ICT is multiple: (1) administrative (members of the certain social initiative collaborate on the project through different ICT tools that enable communication and information organization), (2) disseminative and educational (the topic of the social initiative is disseminated through different tools and social media), and sometimes (3) topical (it the topic of social innovation project is directly connected to specific ICT technology). Based on the roles that the ICT takes upon in the process of social innovation implementation, the authors present ICT solutions that could be included in the realization of a social innovation course for business students at the graduate level.

Although social innovation is an old paradigm, social innovation courses appeared in the curricula in the approximately last ten years. By doing so educational institutions acknowledged the existence of new approaches to obstacles that the world is facing. The courses regarding the social innovations give the students valuable knowledge and skills related to solving different social problems, increasing the motivation for being active in the society, and raising awareness about specific topics that need attention. An important role in implementing social innovation have ICT technologies. The role of the ICT is multiple: (1) administrative (members of the certain social initiative collaborate on the project through different ICT tools that enable communication and information organization), (2) disseminative and educational (the topic of the social initiative is disseminated through different tools and social media), and sometimes (3) topical (it the topic of social innovation project is directly connected to specific ICT technology). Based on the roles that the ICT takes upon in the process of social innovation implementation, the authors present ICT solutions that could be included in the realization of a social innovation course for business students at the graduate level.

Educating social innovators in higher education is of great importance as many societal challenges exist. This study combines experiential learning with ICT tools to provide students with the needed competences and experiences to solve societal challenges. We employ this approach in an innovative course, named Experts in Teamwork (EiT), which follows the experiential learning cycle. The participants of this study are undergraduate students interested to learn how they can solve societal challenges. Specifically, 26 students with various background and nationalities participated. A collaborative platform was developed that supports teamwork and cooperation, as well as the social innovation process. The findings show that this approach can influence positively learning outcomes and increase students' engagement and motivation with both social innovation and the learning process. Also, students' creativity was increased leading to the development of better solutions. The overall outcomes contribute to theoretical and practical development, to allow educators to take appropriate measures to enhance students' learning experience and foster social innovation through ICT.

Educating social innovators in higher education is of great importance as many societal challenges exist. This study combines experiential learning with ICT tools to provide students with the needed competences and experiences to solve societal challenges. We employ this approach in an innovative course, named Experts in Teamwork (EiT), which follows the experiential learning cycle. The participants of this study are undergraduate students interested to learn how they can solve societal challenges. Specifically, 26 students with various background and nationalities participated. A collaborative platform was developed that supports teamwork and cooperation, as well as the social innovation process. The findings show that this approach can influence positively learning outcomes and increase students' engagement and motivation with both social innovation and the learning process. Also, students' creativity was increased leading to the development of better solutions. The overall outcomes contribute to theoretical and practical development, to allow educators to take appropriate measures to enhance students' learning experience and foster social innovation through ICT.

Interrelations between creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurial skills of individuals have long been discussed in the literature. Due to the challenges regarding their measurement, most studies focused on the intentions rather than the outcomes. The idea generation that requires creativity is the first stage of social innovation. The young population's creative potentials in participating social innovation practices deserve a special attention as they play a critical role in the innovativeness and entrepreneurship of societies. This study aims to explore the factors that determine the creative intentions of university students that are important in generating social innovation projects. A structured survey based on the literature was conducted among 600 management and engineering students from 3 universities from the different percentiles of the Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index for 2012 of the Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology. The survey included questions on the demographic characteristics, environmental factors, motivators, university/institutional context, perceptions and creative thinking attitudes. By conducting reliability and factor analysis, accuracy and validity of data is tested and the impact factors were identified. Findings reveal that visionary attitude, curiosity, exploration and learning, attitude for own creativity, self-esteem, perception about the learnability of creativity, university and social environment are components of creative thinking intentions of students and some of these factors vary by year of study and university.

Interrelations between creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurial skills of individuals have long been discussed in the literature. Due to the challenges regarding their measurement, most studies focused on the intentions rather than the outcomes. The idea generation that requires creativity is the first stage of social innovation. The young population's creative potentials in participating social innovation practices deserve a special attention as they play a critical role in the innovativeness and entrepreneurship of societies. This study aims to explore the factors that determine the creative intentions of university students that are important in generating social innovation projects. A structured survey based on the literature was conducted among 600 management and engineering students from 3 universities from the different percentiles of the Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index for 2012 of the Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology. The survey included questions on the demographic characteristics, environmental factors, motivators, university/institutional context, perceptions and creative thinking attitudes. By conducting reliability and factor analysis, accuracy and validity of data is tested and the impact factors were identified. Findings reveal that visionary attitude, curiosity, exploration and learning, attitude for own creativity, self-esteem, perception about the learnability of creativity, university and social environment are components of creative thinking intentions of students and some of these factors vary by year of study and university.