Fostering Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship: The New Role of University

Abstract

Sustainable development is a global objective to overcome the economic, environment and society crises worldwide. The research aims are twofold: (i) Explores the proactive and dynamic model of the university’s education system, focusing on the new role played by the School of Economics in the promotion of economic, social and environmental sustainability, and how this goes beyond, in stimulating bottom–up social entrepreneurship ideas through students engagement; (ii) Provides a descriptive analysis of innovative laboratories modules, by studying and mapping the best project proposals initiated by the student. Finally, it presents a case study analysis on waste management (UniRecycling) project, scaling up objectives, stakeholder mapping, activities and the expected results. The findings show the new role played by School of Economics, along with other partner institutions, in supporting the student’s engagement in practice-oriented workshops that enable the transfer of knowledge, skills, and self – development. The implications of the research to be developed show that a dynamic bottom-up model of learning and dissemination of sustainable and entrepreneurial should aim to sensitise students to be active and create project ideas for social and environmental entrepreneurship and build and strengthen the local territorial networks, to contribute to the creation of a system of services attentive to responsible and sustainable entrepreneurial development.