Dimensions of Social Innovation in Universities and their New Roles during the Pandemic

Social innovation has been receiving growing attention from policy makers, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, researchers and the business sector around the world. Despite a growing belief that social innovation represents one of the key solutions to solving current societal problems, the field of social entrepreneurship research in higher education institutions provides disparate discussions of this phenomenon and there are only a few systematic reviews conducted, which severely impedes the advancement of social entrepreneurship practice and research in education context. Current literature describes the field of study regarding social innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education institutions (HEIs) as being not well-developed nor agreed upon. A macro-lens regarding the awareness of relevant actors about multiple dimensions of social innovation in universities, and connectivity with the reality of today, is needed. By building on existing frameworks on (social) innovation in higher education, created to increase competitiveness of universities worldwide, the present paper aims to discuss the dimensions in which higher education institutions can innovate and become social entrepreneurial. It seeks to present the perspectives against which relevant actor personnel should identify and analyse social innovation in HEIs. Also, this paper is an attempt to show that now more than ever there is a critical need to examine the societal impact of COVID-19 on higher level institutions actors. Further research should identify how higher education innovation assists societal challenges and investigate the most expected outcomes of social entrepreneurship in higher education. Also, it should explore the common ground where more actors can sustain the innovation.