Seoul Women’s University
Urban Innovation School and Local Living Lab: Connecting Student Learning with Community Practice
Highly Commended , Student engagement
About
This initiative bridges student learning with real-world community challenges through the Urban Innovation School and Local Living Lab. Since 2020, students have engaged with local residents, organisations, and public partners in areas facing housing vulnerability and population decline.
Over time, the programme has developed into an ongoing collaboration involving universities, local government, NGOs, and industry partners. Rather than short-term projects, it focuses on building relationships and sustained engagement.
Students not only learn in classrooms but also engage in real-world contexts, working alongside residents to co-create responses to local challenges. Many begin to see themselves as active participants in their communities. Student reflection journals collected over several years, along with related academic research, show consistent changes in students’ perspectives, sense of responsibility, and engagement.
Top 3 learnings
- We learned that long-term engagement builds deeper trust and more meaningful community impact.
- We learned that co-creation with residents leads to more relevant and sustainable solutions.
- We learned that collaboration across sectors strengthens implementation and long-term sustainability.
Sustainable Development Goals
Judges' comments
"A very successful programme that has scaled up across the country and is very well received by the students participating over time. A project with proven capacity to transform lives in the country where local issues are addressed in a systemic way. Fosters student engagement in urban sustainability and innovation. Encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and practical learning, demonstrates a definite improvement year on year with the idea of the living lab. Expansion into other parts of Korea shows potential to replicate and upscale. Student impact on behaviour, learning outcomes, curriculum and sustainability overall is clearly evidenced."
What it means to win
"Winning an International Green Gown Award would be a tremendous honour for Seoul Women's University. It would recognise our University's 65-year tradition of community-engaged education and its enduring commitment to creating social value through education. This recognition would affirm that our University continues to carry forward the spirit of social innovation by educating students to serve alongside communities and create positive social change. More importantly, it would encourage us to continue working with communities and partners to create lasting social impact and to share our learning with the global higher education community."
| 2026 | |
| Student engagement | |
| Highly Commended , International | |
| Back to top |
More from the 2026 awards
Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense
Facilita Cidadão: Guidance for Micro-Entrepreneurs
Read More
Finalist, Student engagement
Green Gown Award Regions
Australasia
