Higher Education Institutions as Strategic Centers for Promoting Social Innovation in Gerontology: Insights from the Senior Innovation Lab Training Initiative

Abstract

Background: Social innovation and gerontology develop a wide range of actions aimed at supporting and improving the needs of long-lived populations. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are drivers of change, and their potential to develop solutions through teaching students’ social innovation skills should be considered in the field of longevity. This article reports the results obtained by the Senior Innovation Lab (SIL) training initiative. Methods: Challenge-based learning, design thinking, and lean startup approaches were implemented in training 26 participants with the final aim of developing innovative solutions to previously identified long-lived population needs. Results: Final products were innovative ideas developed through collaboration between students, academic staff, and business employees, indicating the importance of adopting entrepreneurial approaches in academic teaching. The participants identified motivation and perseverance as the most relevant entrepreneurial skills and most of them also perceived that they possessed it. The participants also considered spotting opportunities (chance to add value) as the most desired skill throughout the whole experience. Conclusions: SIL’s assessment showed that social innovation methodologies contributed to the development of learning strategies, enabling potential solutions for the ageing challenges.

Keywords

• higher education institutions
• social innovation
• gerontology
• entrepreneurship
• competences