Through the SEgoesGreen project, we aimed to bridge the gap between Social Economy (SE) education and the urgent need for action-oriented environmental learning. Our main goal was to embed Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) into SE-related higher education programmes, using them as a powerful pedagogical tool to engage both students and educators in addressing climate change and environmental challenges. We wanted to support university educators by developing a comprehensive blended training programme—including an educator’s manual, a MOOC platform, and a Hackathon Seminar—that would introduce innovative, experiential, and eco-citizenship-based teaching practices. Simultaneously, we aimed to empower students by offering them a future-oriented Green SE curriculum that fosters green skills, creativity, and active citizenship through real-world, challenge-based learning. Finally, we sought to create a replicable and scalable model for integrating NBS into SE education and promote its uptake EU-wide through policy recommendations and ready-to-use training materials - ensuring long-term impact beyond the project’s lifetime.
We applied for this project to address the critical gap between the environmental potential of Social Economy Entities (SEEs) and the limited role of environmental education in SE- related university curricula. While SEEs are increasingly recognized as key players in the green transition, their capacity remains underutilized—mainly due to a lack of training and practical educational frameworks. Existing programs focus on theoretical aspects of sustainability, offering few opportunities for experiential learning. Our project responds to this by developing SEgoesGreen—an innovative educational programme that integrates Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and eco-citizenship into SE studies. The aim is to move from “learning about” sustainability to “learning for” climate action. We seek to empower SE students with green skills, creativity, and initiative, and to support educators with resources and training to deliver transformative, action-oriented environmental education. Through this, we aim to build a new generation of environmentally engaged social entrepreneurs. The project also supports systemic change by aligning higher education with EU climate and sustainability goals.