SIGU Platform university conference: Social innovations are gaining increasing attention in the university landscape

On 17 September, more than 70 academics from all over Germany accepted an invitation from the Social Research Center Dortmund at the TU Dortmund University to attend a conference in Dortmund as part of the Platform for Social Innovations and Social Enterprises (SIGU Platform) and discussed the role of universities and scientific institutions in the social innovation ecosystem. The goal of paying equal attention to social and technological innovations in the science system and providing equivalent funding is shared by an increasing number of stakeholders from science, practice and politics. Nevertheless, anchoring social innovation at all levels, in all three missions and across different disciplines will still require a great deal of work and resources.

A university conference on ‘The role of universities and scientific institutions in the ecosystem of social innovation’ at the International Meeting Centre (IBZ) of the TU Dortmund University addressed this issue.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK), is currently funding the establishment of a large information and networking platform as a central measure of the German National Strategy for Social Innovations and Social Enterprises for the Common Good. It is being implemented by Social Impact gGmbH, the Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland e.V. and the TU Dortmund University (Social Research Center Dortmund), which aims to promote the mobilisation and networking of the scientific ecosystem of social innovations. In the almost one-year project period to date, a science network has been established through a series of activities in all three missions, in teaching, research and transfer work. With the conference, this development has reached a first climax. Interested researchers, teachers and members of transfer centres as well as other members of academic institutions and practitioners came together and made good use of the opportunity to inspire each other, get to know each other and discuss strategically important fields of action.

First, PD Dr Christoph Kaletka (Deputy Director of the Social Research Center Dortmund) introduced the conference as project manager (presentation_kaletka). This was followed by two keynote speeches by Prof Simon Teasdale (Queen's University Belfast / Queen's Business School) and Prof Julia Wittmayer (Erasmus University Rotterdam / Dutch Research Institute for Transitions) with exciting impulses, which presented examples of successful models and central challenges of establishing the topic of social innovation at other universities from an international context.
(Keynote Prof Simon Teasdale; Keynote Prof Julia Wittmayer)

f.l.t.r.: Prof. Simon Teasdale, Prof. Julia Wittmayer, PD Dr. Christoph Kaletka

In addition to numerous informal discussions, the participants used the subsequent dialogue session to discuss three aspects in greater depth:

Changing higher education, anchoring social innovation (moderated by Prof. Gerald Beck, Munich University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and Marthe Zirngiebl, Social Research Center Dortmund at TU Dortmund University)
New innovation policy: Implications for research, teaching and transfer (Moderation: Michael Kriegel, TH Rosenheim, and Daniel Krüger, Social Research Center Dortmund at TU Dortmund University)
Positioning in the international discourse (moderation: Dr Anna Butzin, Institute for Work and Technology Gelsenkirchen, and Katrin Bauer, Social Research Center Dortmund at TU Dortmund University)

Prof. Gerald Beck (Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences)

Michael Kriegel (Rosenheim Technical University of Applied Sciences)

Dr. Anna Butzin (Institute for Work and Technology)

The sessions were characterised by lively participation from all those present and numerous suggestions for the further development of the topic at universities and scientific institutions and the creation of adequate framework conditions. As a result, the development of a strategically orientated thesis paper was initiated. This impulse represents the starting point for a collaborative consolidation process within the network. The result is to be discussed again in a suitable form at the Impact Summit of the SIGU Platform planned for 8 April 2025 in Berlin and then finalised. At the invitation of the German government, several hundred representatives of the ecosystem of social innovation and public interest companies are expected to attend.