A New Attempt at Social Innovation Curriculum : The Design and Operation of ‘Urban Innovation Project (Capstone Design)’ by a PrivatePublic-Academic Partnership

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the design and operation of the private-public-academic partnership Social Innovation Liberal Arts Curriculum. This initiative involves collaboration between universities, local governments, companies, and NGOs local governments, companies, NGOs, and universities to address community problems and create positive change. The ‘Urban Innovation Project (Capstone Design)’ class was developed to operate the Urban Innovation School, which is a collaborative urban regeneration project involving Seoul Women's University, Habitat for Korea, and POSCO E&C (formerly known as POSCO Engineering & Construction). The project, initiated in 2020, aims to foster private-public-academic partnership and resident participation. While maintaining the purpose and benefits of the current university alliance program, the course was developed as a three-credit liberal arts curriculum. It utilized the inter-university credit exchange method to offer a structured curriculum on a semester-by-semester basis. The aim was to enhance students' engagement in the project, elevate their performance, and acknowledge their participation efforts by granting credits. The main content is based on the implementation of the project by a team organized by topic. It consists of online lectures, on-site activities for 3 days and 2 nights, expert advice, resident participation activities, and a final output presentation. In the 2023 academic year, a total of 49 students from 8 universities participated in the first semester of the program. In order to enhance the educational and social impact of the program, it is necessary to expand the number of universities that offer and operate classes in the future. Additionally, the project topics should be expanded from solely focusing on urban regeneration to encompassing urban issues as a whole. The ‘Urban Innovation Project (Capstone Design)’ class, which is based on private-public-academic partnership and credit exchange between universities, will be able to propose useful and meaningful implications for the social innovation curriculum. This curriculum aims to solve problems and create a positive impact through the connection and collaboration of various actors and sectors.