Social Innovation at School

There is a dynamic school that is changing silently far from the headlights. It is doing so by opening up to the outside, involving surrounding areas and local communities. This is what has been revealed by the mapping created by Ashoka Italia and presented yesterday to the Chamber of Deputies  [see news: Rethinking Educational Systems]. And Scientific Director Alfonso Molina confirms this with an example of a concrete intervention in the suburbs: Programme Smart & Heart Rome, which is supported by the Rome Council and implements innovative practices, in connection with schools, universities, and companies.

For example, for the first time in a public school, and in the Tor Bella Monaca neighbourhood, one of the most complex in the capital due to a series of inequalities, students have access to an indoor drone flight field to explore the challenge of holistic sustainability in the transformation digital. They work with commitment and are supported by their teachers and researchers from the Departments of Civil Engineering and Computer Engineering at the Rome “Tor Vergata” University, with support from ESA and Sap. It is a virtuous example of educational and social innovation that arises from a hybrid alliance between various parties with a strong impact on the recovery of the area. The school can become a point of reference for the social development of the area, supporting the growth of young people and providing numerous opportunities for personal and professional orientation.

The Innovation Gyms are school environments that allow schools, local communities, and learning environments to become one.

Alfonso Molina also underlined how the Ashoka Strade d’Innovazione Report is “valuable and timely as it arrives at a time of change in Italian schools. It provides us with an overview of schools in which innovation is underway despite the many challenges that must be faced to reach full fruition. An awareness is emerging that schools must build educational ecosystems linked to social development. They must strengthen life skills together with academic knowledge. They must prioritize well-being to promote learning. And all of this requires a transformation of the role of educators.”

Alfonso Molina’s Presentation