Training in techniques for innovation in social work and social education. A collaborative interuniversity experience

Abstract

This paper presents a training experience of teaching innovation with students and lecturers from the bachelor's degrees in Social Work and Social Education at the Ramon Llull, Deusto and Comillas Universities (Spain), during the 2019-2020 academic year. The aim was to generate innovative and useful proposals for professional praxis in accompanying people in their life transitions. Creative design dynamics were used, working collaboratively in its five phases: empathizing, defining, devising, creating, and evaluating. The satisfaction with the experience was measured with a questionnaire administered online to which 82,3% of the students responded. Particularly valuable contributions include the self-perceived competences in inspiration, narration and representation of social projects; the development of creativity and critical thinking; the collaborative work and horizontal relationship between students and teachers in an inter-university context; and the strengthening of the motivation to continue learning. It is concluded that the proposed training techniques are perceived very positively by students, opening up new perspectives for their professional practice.