The project involved 55 first-year graduate students enrolled in the Entrepreneurship Economics program, who chose the course with the goal of gaining practical experience and contributing to socially beneficial initiatives. The students were organized into 14 teams and worked intensively for three and a half months with civil society organizations from different parts of Croatia.
The project began with a public call inviting associations and non-profit organizations from across Croatia to submit the challenges for which they sought support. The response was exceptionally strong, confirming the need for additional professional capacities that can contribute to the development of civil society organizations.
After the participating organizations and their needs were presented, students independently selected the projects they wished to work on. The greatest interest was shown in projects related to improving social media communication, developing strategic development plans for organizations, and designing or enhancing organizational visual identities.
To ensure the experience closely resembled real business and project environments, students were required to prepare project documentation, define objectives and activities, monitor results, and regularly report on project progress. Each team maintained work records, collected evidence of completed activities, and documented achieved outcomes.
Students developed projects for fourteen organizations from across Croatia: Alavera, BRODOTO, CeDePe Zagreb, the Society for Sustainable Development Design (DOOR), the Croatian Debate Society, the Independent Youth Association, Impact Association, Kultura Nova Association, KAS Sisak Association, Radost Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, “Pčelice” Association of Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities, the Blind Association Pakrac–Lipik, the Association of Youth and Students with Disabilities of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County “ZNAM”, and the Association for the Promotion of Children's Wellbeing “Portić”.
The project gained additional value through collaboration with ACT Group, an organization recognized for its long-standing work in the development of social entrepreneurship and social innovation in Croatia. Throughout the semester, ACT Group experts Stjepan Mikec, Danijela Paska, Jelena Pavlović, Ana Brigović, and Ivan Blažon mentored the student teams, helping them better understand the needs of civil society organizations and identify sustainable solutions to their challenges. Course instructors Associate Professor Irena Konecki, PhD, Associate Professor Kristina Detelj, PhD, and Associate Professor Nikola Kadoić, PhD coordinated project activities and monitored and evaluated the achieved results.
Upon completion of the projects, two organizations can now proudly present their new visual identities, one organization has received a newly developed strategy accompanied by an action plan, and eleven organizations have been provided with high-quality solutions for strengthening their social media presence.
“Service-learning enables students to apply classroom knowledge in real-life situations while developing their creativity, communication skills, and sense of social responsibility. At the same time, civil society organizations receive practical solutions that they can continue using long after the project has ended. It is a collaboration that enriches everyone involved,” emphasized Course leader Associate Professor Irena Konecki, PhD.
The first cycle of service-learning implementation within the Social Innovations course demonstrated how higher education can serve as a powerful driver of positive change within the community. The social impact achieved, along with the satisfaction expressed by both students and participating organizations, confirms the value of this learning approach and creates opportunities for its broader application in the future.
The project represents another step forward for FOI in advancing an educational model that combines academic excellence, innovation, and active engagement for the benefit of society.
