Interdisciplinary Social Innovation Course
LIFE has partnered with dedicated educators from various universities across the country who share a common vision, spearheading the creation of the Association of Interdisciplinary Social Innovation Courses. This association strives to broaden the implementation of interdisciplinary social innovation courses, build a sustainable support system for such courses in tertiary education, and enhance the promotion of interdisciplinary social innovation education concepts. The objective is to make significant impacts across a wider range of universities. As of 2024, the association has marked five successful years of operation, drawing in educators from more than 47 universities and colleges, and establishing 73 courses nationwide.
The Development of the Association of the Interdisciplinary Social Innovation Course
2019
- Association members: Sichuan University, Shanxi Normal University, Southwest Jiaotong University, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
- Four universities and four courses
2021
- Association members: Dalian University of Technology, Henan University of Economics and Law, Huazhong Agricultural University, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Shanxi Normal University, Xi’an Eurasia University, Southwest Jiaotong University, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
- Eight universities and eight courses
2022
- 22 partner universities and 24 courses
- Fields: sustainable development, transportation, engineering, entrepreneurship and leadership, humanities, etc
- 4,011 students and 80 teachers participated
2023
- 42 partner universities and 57 courses
- New fields: ideological and political practice, history, sociology, accounting and other diversified majors
In today’s era, the social problems faced by humans are both important and complex; it is not enough to rely on a single discipline. Instead, it is necessary to integrate the views of multiple disciplines and build a more comprehensive understanding of issues.
In addition, with the rapid development of the economy and artificial intelligence technology in recent decades, how to solve and deal with existing or possible social problems more effectively still requires innovative ideas and new technical means.
To break down the barriers of communication and cooperation between disciplines; improve the research-led learning ability of XJTLUers to discover, analyse and solve complex practical problems; and cultivate students’ innovation ability and social responsibility, LIFE has launched an interdisciplinary social innovation learning course.
The course starts with real-world examples, allowing students to discover and analyse real social problems and use innovative thinking to solve them through interdisciplinary teamwork and practice.