Encourage Sustainability Through Social Initiatives

ongoing

This initiative seeks to develop three Jean Monnet modules at the University of Tirana's Faculty of Economics (FE): 'Business Management' (BM), 'Human Recourse Management' (HRM), and 'Innovation'. All three of these bachelor courses will work together to raise awareness of the importance of inclusivity and social responsibility as one of the European Union's sustainable development policies and objectives. Initially, we want students to become familiar with the real circumstances of being social, starting from business management concepts with a social standpoint, progressing to human resources that emphasize equity and social inclusion, and culminating in the formation of start-ups and social enterprises. Secondly, building on the basic concepts of business management acquired by the first-year students, we aim to further deepen their knowledge during their third year, in the Human Resources and Innovation modules, focusing on social challenges, to develop future managers and entrepreneurs with expertise in social fields. Increasing cognitive skills in this area is crucial for raising awareness and achieving the EU's social inclusion goals. The rationale behind this proposal is to improve and teach the three modules by empowering sustainability through social initiatives. We will adapt the BM module to teach a business management approach that works for the benefit of society. The part of our strategy related to profitable companies will require them to work not only for profit but also for people and sustainability. Additionally, regarding organizational culture and hierarchy, it will incorporate a more inclusive approach towards disadvantaged groups, as well as the growth and empowerment of women in the company and decision-making process. The HRM course will take a more practical approach, focusing on the social practices of employers and employees. This module's theoretical and practical understanding will enable future human resource managers to not only meet but significantly exceed their legal requirements to be socially responsible. The innovation module will focus on coaching and mentoring our students in the necessary steps for creating social start-ups which in turn will lead to creative young businesspeople who deal with societal challenges. This last part of our strategy emphasizes the importance that the snowball effect from the creation of social start-ups has on the economy and future social initiatives. Since the three courses give thorough, up-to-date information about the theoretical-practical elements related to the creation and management of social organizations, they will serve as a strong foundation for our project's aim. In this instance, the enhancements will be associated with the implementation of the EU's strategy and expertise in the Albanian settings. The nature of the workshops will be a crucial component of our action. Many today's seminars are theoretical. We intend to enhance them by adding case studies, making them more applicable, bringing up the context of social issues, creating social business plans, or highlighting successful European examples as best practices to emulate. Therefore, by improving and enhancing the modules we aim to provide our students a more useful and practical approach. The learning activity will be supplemented by a series of activities, including Long-life Learning Courses, open lectures, an innovation competition for social businesses, online training, and activism days with specific themes of social inclusion, to provide a broader scope of completion of one of the EU's objectives, which is in its early stages in our country.