An Upside-Down Approach to Social Innovation at Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

Experts commonly assert that social innovation is best taught outside of higher education, given that higher education institutions are prone to rigidity traps. Opposing research suggests that social innovation can flourish within institutions of higher education when they embrace new ways of teaching and learning. Using a student-initiated and led Social Innovation Organization (SIO) at a university in South Asia as a case study, this article considers how social innovation education might emerge from and take root within institutions of higher education and what the consequences are for social relations, power structures, and institutional practices.

Keywords

• social innovation, higher education, decolonial pedagogy, community-based participatory approaches