Friday 03-03-2017 - 13:52

Today I will be presenting at the Ashoka U Exchange Conference in Miami as part of a panel discussion on how to engage students in social innovation. The Ashoka U Exchange is one of the world’s largest annual gatherings that showcases exciting new models of social innovation in higher education. 

I will first be asked to introduce myself, and asked how the social innovation projects that others are bringing to the Ashoka U Exchange Conference can benefit students at GCU. I am also speaking about our very own Social Innovation Project that we run here at GCU Students’ Association, and how this benefits both GCU students and the local community.

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be part of a peer to peer workshop, where we devised practical examples of how to engage students in social innovation. I was joined by students from Utah, Massachusetts and North Carolina on how we could implement a student engagement framework on our campuses​. I then visited Little Havana on a cultural visit, to meet some of the people who are improving the opportunities for young people in the area through working with organisations that engage young people in activities such as dance classes, basket ball and baseball. Through these innovative solutions to gang crime and shootings in the area, these people are now providing opportunities to young people in Little Havana that they have never experienced before. 

Despite enjoying some beautiful weather, this trip does have a serious purpose. It genuinely is an extremely important part in making sure that our students are part of something bigger, and engaging with change makers from across the globe means that we can continue working on projects that positive impact our local communities. I will certainly be bringing home some wonderful ideas for projects to Glasgow once I return!

In the mean time - have you signed up to our Social Innovation project yet? Taking part is free, enhances your CV and the lives of others, and you could also get the opportunity to visit countries across Europe to meet others involved in the project!

Interested? Find out more at: https://www.gcustudents.co.uk/socialinnovation

Jodie Waite,
Vice President GSBS