Case Study on Planning and Designing Social Innovation Projects: Insights into Students’ Learning Experiences, Challenges, and Aspirations through Reflective Practice

Service learning or social innovation projects in higher education institutions (HEIs) have become more mainstream and are no longer optional endeavors done by students only when they have time to do so. Such initiatives have become a critical part of learning and character development for young people keen to lead change and find meaning in what they do. As HEIs strive to offer more relevant and authentic learning opportunities for their students, service learning or social innovation projects have become common in HEI curricula. Other than the opportunity to work with others on projects that aim to address social issues and challenges, students get to carry out self-retrospection and introspection on what they experienced and learned. This paper presents excerpts from written reflection entries authored by fifteen students who participated in a social innovation project module at an applied learning university in Singapore. Their written reflective practice provided rich insights into their personal development, team interactions and dynamics, challenges faced, perceptions of the social impact of their work, and areas for improvement based on what the students experienced. The paper concludes with suggestions for implementing similar modules or initiatives related to social innovation or social impact in HEI curricula.