The A Comparative Perspective on Leveraging Social Innovation in Education workshop was recently held at the Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Organised by Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy (ACSEP) and Leping Social Entrepreneur Foundation, some 60 participants from government bodies, education institutions, corporates and social purpose organisations attended the event.
Six speakers shared cases on how different education bodies approached social innovation and trends in social innovation.
Jonathan Chang, Executive Director of NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, highlighted how the government and NUS worked together to set up an entrepreneurial arm to encourage social mission-driven ventures.
Ho Han-Peng, Acting Head of Lien Centre for Social Innovation, SMU, talked about the Centre’s focus to research capacity building in social sectors.
Prof Shinichiro Kawakami and Lin Kobayashi both shared how, at i-University Japan and UWC ISAK Japan, social innovation in education can break traditional boundaries and establish new systems to address social needs better.
ACSEP’s Dr Han Ling, Research Fellow and Dr Lee Chengpeng, Assistant Professor (Sociology) said that teaching resources are limited in Asia, even as the region’s universities have set up entrepreneurship and innovation centres focusing social innovation.
The speakers and participants then engaged in group discussions and highlighted the mind-sets and skills – greater resilience, better stress management, having empathy for others, being curious about and engaging others – are needed to support social entrepreneurship and innovation.