The main objective of the SPACES project was to enhance the capacity of higher education institutions to develop social competences as key ‘competences of the future’. We sought to develop an effective model for the teaching and assessment of these skills, with a particular focus on preparing future teachers to work in a changing world. We sought to achieve the following specific objectives: • To produce an academic compendium and glossary of definitions relating to social competences. • To develop an innovative set of methods, techniques and good practices to support students’ social development. • To create a reliable diagnostic tool – the Academic Social Competence Scale (ASCom). • To equip teaching staff with practical tools to stimulate students’ civic engagement and ethical attitudes. • Building an open online repository providing universal access to the developed materials for the European higher education sector. The achievement of these objectives was intended to support a paradigm shift in academic education: a transition from the ‘know-how’ paradigm to a holistic ‘know-how-to-be’ approach
We applied to run the SPACES project because our experience as academic staff, our research-backed knowledge and our in-depth analysis of the issue had convinced us that social competences are the foundation of the ‘competences of the future’, essential for solving complex problems in the unknown contexts of tomorrow. We wanted to propose a new way of thinking about academic education, promoting a paradigm shift: a transition from ‘knowing how to do’ to a holistic ‘knowing how to be’. A key motivation was the desire to enhance the prestige of professions of public trust, particularly teachers, and to utilise international cooperation to develop high-quality, universal educational solutions. The project arose from the identified lack of scientifically validated tools for measuring and stimulating the development of social competences in higher education. It was a response to the problem of deteriorating social interactions and the growing need for mental support and the development of self-awareness among young adults. In the face of digital transformation, the project addressed the need to foster critical and creative thinking and supported the flexibilisation of education through the implementation of micro-credentials.