Challenge-based Learning applied to Open Social Innovation: impacts on social companies

The challenge-based learning (CBL) approach applied to real problems can lead to change by substantially impacting companies and organizations that offer challenges to be solved. This pedagogical approach can be used in open social innovation (OSI) processes. This innovative learning method leads to capacity buil-ding, soft skills or 21st-century skills acquisition, and experiential and active learning that connects stu-dents with companies, cooperatives, and Third Sector organizations. This working-progress paper aims to understand how a challenge-based learning initiative such as the 8 ECTS “Social Entrepreneurship and Su-stainability” curricular course at the University of Trento (Italy) impacts entrepreneurial and innovation processes on the companies involved in the educational initiative. Companies that offer challenges are cal-led challenge providers and involve students in open social innovation processes to solve companies’ pro-blems and societal issues. Measuring the impact on challenge providers involves evaluating short- and long-term benefits and tangible and intangible outputs of the OSI. The research collects data from online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with five challenge providers involved in the course through a qualitative methodology. From the challenge provider perspective, this course represents an opportunity to acquire new ideas and solutions, recruit young talents, and gain knowledge and competencies. All the interviewees’ challenge providers recommend this course to other organizations. They agree on positive benefits related to receiving new, fresh, valuable ideas and disruptive solutions not considered before. They thought the interaction with students to be good. However, attending a challenge-based learning initiative is time-consuming and requires some facilities and infrastructures that not all companies own or can put into practice. This research has some limits: results need to be completed and are partial. Some data is lac-king since the course has just finished, and not all companies have completed the questionnaires or atten-ded the final semi-structured interview. This paper’s originality stems from the extensive literature on the learning process and the student’s perspective.