About

About the Project

Our Goal

The WELFARE project comes in response to the documented need for infusing social entrepreneurship and innovation into Higher Education. Although social entrepreneurship is currently embedded within university curricula, this happens through a narrow approach that has mainly a subject-specific focus and application mainly in business studies. For this reason, it is difficult to leverage its full potential and offer holistic solutions to urgent societal issues.

The WELFARE project aims to create a melting pot for social innovation within universities as a gateway for researchers, master and postgraduate students to develop skills and competences as social entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs, by engaging them in communication and cooperation with educational institutions, non-profit organisations and businesses within the welfare system.

Ηow will we achieve our goal?

The project will promote interaction between the welfare sector and students/researchers within universities, master and postgraduate level, focusing on social innovation within the welfare system. By including both practitioners and students in the training, we will enhance inclusion and integration between academia and the public/non-profit welfare system, making project results adaptable to different social systems and other countries/regions.

The project is targeted at university educators, welfare practitioners, researchers and students with the aim to connect them with their communities and welfare systems and develop their capacities to effectively tackle pressing societal issues through social entrepreneurship and innovation.

Objectives

To create an inclusive and integrated learning environment focusing on social innovation and entrepreneurship in the welfare sector.

To create online training and support materials, open educational resources (OERs), for social entrepreneurs tailored to their needs as well as welfare sector needs.

To develop the WELFARE training platform for social entrepreneurs, introducing the concept of social innovation and entrepreneurship.

To create a communication platform for social innovators and entrepreneurs, both university students and practitioners, sharing knowledge and experiences.

The project is funded with support from the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme and has a duration of 24 months (1/3/2022-1/3/2024).