Social Innovation Lab // SoIL Ludwigshafen
The Social Innovation Lab works systematically across the university on challenges that are relevant from a scientific and social perspective. At the heart of the lab is the Creative Space in Ludwigshafen's city center, which opened in the summer semester of 2020. Here, university lecturers and cooperation partners work on issues for which the students and lecturers develop creative solution ideas in several modules. They actively involve citizens by inviting them to the Creative Space for discussions or conducting surveys and interviews "on the street". The results are presented to the cooperation partners and other interested parties in Innovation Talks and presented to the public at a tour at the end of each semester.
The funding
The Social Innovation Lab was funded by the Stifterverband and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation as part of the Innovation Hubs@Campus funding line from mid-2019 to early 2022. The university participates in the Innovation Club, an expert group with 14 other universities to promote innovation at universities.
A visit to the Social Innovation Lab (Video: Stifterverband)
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What are social innovations?
Social innovations are new solutions (products, services, models, markets, precesses, etc.) that, simultaneously, satisfy a social need, create new or better capabilities and relationships, and make better use of assets and resources. In other words, social innovations are good for society and improve society's capacity to act. (The Young Foundation, 2012, p. 18. )
Social innovations are intended to provide answers to social challenges, meet society's needs, and at the same time make better use of resources. The issues are many: how can people be comfortably mobile without polluting the environment (car sharing, e-bikes)? How can people experience nature and garden in the city (urban gardening, green roofs)? There are no limits to the questions that can be asked; the way of thinking is "reversed" compared to, for example, technical innovations. The aim is not to sell innovations that have already been developed. Rather, products, services or processes are developed that people and society really need.
Room booking Social Innovation Lab
The Creative Space of the Social Innovation Lab is a spacious seminar room of the HWG, located in the middle of Ludwigshafen's pedestrian zone. Due to its location and nature, the space is particularly suitable for high-profile events as well as seminars or workshops in which passers-by are to be involved, e.g. for surveys. Material for the use of creative methods is available (fine-tuning possible). Thanks to its flexible equipment (high and low tables, rollable whiteboards and projector, workbench, walk-in shop window, etc.), the room can be used very variably. The kitchen adjoining the room can also be used for self-administration.
Booking and room allocation
A reservation request can be made by e-mail to socialinnovation@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de. The semester planning takes place on two key dates per year (July 15 and January 15), after which you can submit further requests for dates. The following priorities apply when allocating dates:
- Professors, teaching staff or lecturers at the HWG who run courses related to social innovation,
- Professors, teaching staff or lecturers of the HWG who need a seminar room for creative methods or similar for their course without reference to social innovation,
- Professors, teaching staff or employees of the HWG who require a creative room for university events or for meetings of initiatives, in which the university is involved, .
- Other events may be considered on a case-by-case basis.