20.500.12556/RUP-22771 Universities as Drivers of Social Innovation and Circular Economy Insights from the University of Trieste Univerze kot gonilniki družbenih inovacij in krožnega gospodarstva vpogledi z Univerze v Trstu Universities are main actors capable of fostering social innovation (SI) and advancing circular economy (CE) practices through education, research, community engagement, and internal governance practices. This article examines the University of Trieste (UNITS) as a case study to explore how universities can promote synergies between SI and CE. By analysing in-depth secondary and primary data, our study maps the activities implemented by the University to spread the two paradigms by specifically organizing them in four fields: teaching and student engagement; research and knowledge transfer; third mission and societal outreach; and sustainability practices. Through this mapping activity, this study identifies five benchmark activities that are considered highly impactful in spreading both SI and CE paradigms: the PhD Program in Circular Economy, the RUS Food Working Group, the AReTS water project, the adaptive reuse of the Ex-Ospedale Militare, and the Innovators Community Lab. Our results provide food for thought for policy makers and practitioners, showing some activities that might be replicable among higher education institutions worldwide. Univerze so ključni akterji, sposobni spodbujati družbene inovacije (angl. social inovations – SI) in pospeševati prakse krožnega gospodarstva (angl. circular economy – CE) preko izobraževanja, raziskovanja, sodelovanja s skupnostjo in notranjih upravljavskih praks. Prispevek obravnava Univerzo v Trstu (UNITS) kot študijo primera z namenom preučitve, kako lahko univerze spodbujajo sinergije med SI in CE. Z analizo poglobljenih sekundarnih in primarnih podatkov naša raziskava kartira dejavnosti, ki jih univerza izvaja za širjenje obeh paradigem, pri čemer jih posebej razvršča v štiri področja: poučevanje in vključevanje študentov; raziskave in prenos znanja; tretje poslanstvo in družbeni doseg; trajnostne prakse. Na podlagi tega kartiranja raziskava opredeli pet referenčnih dejavnosti z velikim vplivom na širjenje paradigem SI in CE: doktorski program krožnega gospodarstva, delovno skupino RUS Food, projekt AReTS Water, prilagodljivo ponovno rabo nekdanje vojaške bolnišnice (Ex-Ospedale Militare) in laboratorij Innovators Community Lab. Rezultati ponujajo pomembna izhodišča za oblikovalce politik in praktike ter izpostavljajo dejavnosti, ki bi jih bilo mogoče prenesti na visokošolske institucije po svetu. university social innovation circular economy sustainability higher education univerza družbene inovacije krožno gospodarstvo trajnost visoko šolstvo true false false Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-03-11 09:09:24 2026-03-11 09:09:24 2026-03-12 03:07:45 0000-00-00 00:00:00 0 0 Koper 0 str. 51-57 no. 2 Vol. 20 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 1854-4231 https://doi.org/10.26493/1854-4231.20.51-57 ZUP_Romanello_Rubina_2025.pdf ZUP_Romanello_Rubina_2025.pdf 1 1463353D3257AF6946DA03B05FDA0250 8b2f83583b6acaf4de6b3dc44c01d3a2a994b3f421908f6008b1273e28fd816d e8206d08-1d21-11f1-9e8d-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=33191 https://www.hippocampus.si/ISSN/1854-4231/20.51-57.pdf 0 e1125ad2-1d21-11f1-9e8d-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=33190 Založba Univerze na Primorskem 0 0 0