Conference Program

Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a crucial role in promoting public engagement between higher education institutions (HEIs) and society, increasing the societal value of knowledge in rapidly changing labour markets (OECD, 2023). Universities are redefining their missions through transformative collaborations with CSOs and businesses, encouraging social innovation through co-developed curricula that include "on-the-job" experiences (Arocena et al., 2015, 2018; Rey-Garcia and Mato-Santiso, 2020).

These partnerships foster democratic practices by connecting academia with civil society, addressing inequalities, enhancing civic engagement, and strengthening social cohesion. However, they also create hybridisation tensions between university missions and CSO cultures, amid neoliberal pressures that reshape priorities and stakeholder interactions (Ravazzoli & Valero, 2020; Zani, 2017; Newfield, 2021; Hamilton et al., 2022).

This study investigates how HEI-CSO collaboration fosters public engagement and boosts the societal value of knowledge through democratic and transformative practices. Specifically, it examines the opportunities and key issues arising from the partnership between HEIs and CSOs, and how this synergy can help redefine the Third Mission and strengthen the university's social impact.

The research employs a qualitative, participatory approach, developed through two national workshops involving professors, researchers, university staff, as well as professionals and volunteers from various civil society organisations. The methodological design is grounded in the principles of action research (Argyris et al., 1985; Lewin, 1946) and applied social research, with the goal of promoting collaboration between institutions and participatory practices (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2000).

The workshops were designed as spaces for reflection and co-creation of change, focused on exploring shared visions, tensions, and strategies for social innovation. Subsequently, the collected data were analysed using the six-phase thematic analysis method proposed by Braun and Clarke (2008), which guided the entire interpretative process.

The study outlines several key trends in the contemporary debate: the emergence of new professional profiles and skills, collaboration between CSOs and HEIs in designing transversal and practice-oriented curricula, and the redefinition of the Third Mission as a space for experimentation and negotiation between social and academic interests. The analysis offers critical insights drawn from the experiences of those actively engaged in integrating civil society into academic practice, exploring current critical issues and strategies for systematising the dialogue between the knowledge and expertise of HEIs and CSOs, toward an education system more aware of its formative, cultural, scientific, and social mission.