The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted higher education worldwide. Higher education institutions needed to adapt very rapidly to the crisis and a new environment, and also needed to revise their role in society. Higher education institutions can contribute to social innovation through research, education and helping to address citizens’ issues and communities’ needs, which is why the creation of social labs by higher education institutions has increased in the last decades. Social labs are spaces where higher education institutions experiment and test new ideas. However, social labs at higher education institutions are still a relatively new phenomenon and have not yet been examined sufficiently. Moreover, it is not fully known how COVID-19 affected social labs’ activities and impacted their establishment. To reflect on the current reality, this article focuses on two research questions: (1) How were social lab activities and partnerships affected during the pandemic? and (2) What impact has COVID-19 had on social labs? To answer these questions, a quantitative survey was conducted, and the data was analysed by quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that the biggest challenge lies in organisational processes and human resources management. Yet, it should be noted that COVID-19 also provided opportunities. They are mainly linked with an impulse to develop innovations and increase digitisation in social labs. The study showed that social labs with flexible organisational processes and human resource management were more successful in their adaptation to crisis conditions caused by COVID-19. In summary, this article provides insight into social labs in higher education institutions by bridging an existing knowledge gap in scientific literature, and expands on it by investigating pandemics as having a crisis impact on social lab development.
No abstract
Vis dažniau iškylantys ekologijos ir gamtos saugojimo iššūkiai skatina mąstyti apie darnų vystymąsi. Vadovėlį parengę mokslininkai teigia, kad pagrindinė darnaus vystymosi idėja – suvokti, kaip žmonija turi gyventi tenkindama savuosius poreikius ir turėdama itin ribotus išteklius. Leidinio autoriai – skirtingų mokslo krypčių atstovai, todėl darnaus vystymosi ir šiai sričiai artimų temų problematika apžvelgiama iš skirtingų socialinių, ekonominių, inžinerinių ir kitų mokslo sričių perspektyvų. Leidinyje plačiai aptariamas išteklių valdymas, jų analizė, keliamas svarbiausias klausimas – kaip žmonės turėtų prisitaikyti prie šios planetos išteklių ribotumo? Išsamioje teorinėje vadovėlio dalyje skaitytojas supažindinamas su darniu vystymusi, šios šakos raida ir svarbiausiais komponentais. Kituose skyriuose darnaus vystymosi komponentai nagrinėjami detaliau: aptariamas socialinės gerovės ir laimės suvokimas, žiedinės ekonomikos pavyzdžiai ir svarba, klimato kaita, skaitmeninės kultūros įtaka. Skyrių pabaigoje pateikti klausimai leis įtvirtinti sukauptas žinias ir ugdytis esmines darnaus vystymosi kompetencijas: sisteminį mąstymą, numatymą, normatyvinę kompetenciją, strateginę kompetenciją, bendradarbiavimą, kritinį mąstymą, savivoką ir integruotą problemų sprendimo kompetenciją. Vadovėlis skirtas plačiam skaitytojų ratui, siekiančiam įgyti globalų, kritišką ir refleksyvų sąmoningumą, socialinio, ekonominio, kultūrinio ir aplinkos konteksto suvokimą, etinę poziciją, paremtą darnaus vystymosi principais.
In today's world, growing cultural integration has a direct impact on the development of tourism, which is important from the economic as well as the social, political or ecological perspective. Given the rapid expansion of tourism on the global market and the ever-increasing competitiveness of the tourism sector, it is important to assess the state of the tourism sector in Lithuania and determine the potential for its development. The results of the qualitative research have demonstrated that the policy options that could allow for the smooth development of Lithuanian tourism have eluded clear identification owing to the less than appropriate regulation of this area and the absence of effective tourism management. It has been discovered that the legal framework so far remains underdeveloped. In addition, when it comes to tourism policy management, the relevant functions tend to not be performed properly. Moreover, there is a lack of cooperation among the institutions responsible for tourism coordination or otherwise indirectly connected to the area, whereas cooperation between the local and the national level is minimal. This shows that a number of areas may require improvement in order for the country’s tourism development policy to become more effective. However, if the country manages to perform a targeted elimination of the problematic areas and makes proper use of its strengths and existing potential in the tourism sector, such as the favorable geographical location, a well-developed sector of tourism-related services, rich recreational resources, or an attractive ratio between the quality and price of tourism products, the effective development of tourism in Lithuania will become possible in the long term.
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