Focus Groups – Social Economy 5.0: Beyond the Textbook 

 Let’s design practical digital training for Social Economy educators. 

Concept

The world is going digital. Digital technologies (AI, platforms, blockchain,…) offer immense potential for social impact. However, cooperatives and the broader social economy (SE) underutilise these tools, confining social economy education to textbooks. 

At the same time, SE educators lack the resources to teach digital skills, resulting in students trained for theory, not for practice. Furthermore, there is a disconnect between academia, tech innovators, and practitioners, preventing true innovation. 

Through the Erasmus+ project DigiSE5.0 we are changing that. 

Learn more about the DigiSE5.0 project here. 

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How? By building Digital Value Creation Labs (DVCLabs) – hubs where SE students and educators use technology to solve real-world problems. It’s a way of teaching where students don’t just “study” the social economy; they use digital tools to innovatively design, solve business bottlenecks, and learn how modern social economy organisations and cooperatives work. 

On 3 March 2026, Cooperatives Europe is bringing together educators, social entrepreneurs, and tech innovators through focus groups to stress-test DigiSE5 research findings and co-design our training.
 

What are we doing? 

We are hosting two specialised focus groups to stress-test our research and co-build our training curriculum. Choose the track that fits your background (or join both! They are open to anyone): 

09:30 – 11:30 | Focus Group 1: Embedding Digital Labs in the Social Economy 

Content: Intro to DigiSE5.0 and the “Digital Value Creation Lab” model. Presentation of our study, highlights, case studies, and integration pathways. We will have a discussion to identify the real-world barriers and opportunities in your local context. How to integrate these co-creation (DVCL) hubs into existing structures, mapping barriers, and identifying opportunities (is this realistic? Is this useful? How do we improve it?). 

• Goal: To check whether our research and proposed model make sense in real life before we finalise them. 
• Format: strategic workshop 
• Focus: How to integrate these hubs into existing structures, mapping barriers, and identifying local opportunities. 
• Who should join? 
• • University educators 
  • Students in social economy 
  • Tech4Good stakeholders 
  • Social Economy actors 
  • Experts in digital transformation and SE 

Sign up here.

14:00 – 16:00 | Focus Group 2: Co-Designing the Training 

Content: What should a “Digital Social Economy” course actually cover? What training models (online, labs, hybrid) actually fit an educator’s schedule? We need practitioners and educators’ insights to help us shape our training program. 

• Goal: Help shape the practical training program 
• Format: Structured Focus Group Interview. 
• Focus: Identification of your experiences, defining essential skills, and determining the best format (online/hybrid) to fit a busy professional schedule. 
• Who should join? 
• • University educators and curriculum developers (lecturers, professors) 
  • Curriculum developers & academic programme coordinators 
  • Tech4Good experts / digital innovation actors 
  • Representatives of Social Economy enterprises (cooperatives, social enterprises) 
  • Digital transformation experts 
  • Education policy representatives 
  • Students active in digitalisation and social economy 

Sign up here.

Why attend? 

Technology for good: Help ensure the digital future is built for people, not just for “Big Tech” profit. 

You don’t need to be a tech genius to join us. If you feel “non-digital,” your voice is exactly what we need. We want to build something that works for normal educators and enterprises. 

The Road to Krakow: Participants will be on the “priority list” for our International Mobility in Krakow at the end of April. This 3-day trip brings people from across Europe together to test the training and models we discussed. It’s a chance to see how other countries are doing it and bring those ideas back home. Secure your spot, should you be interested, on the priority list for our 3-day fully-funded trip to Poland this April. 

For Educators 

• Co-create the toolkit: Help us build the training so it’s actually useful. 
• Solve Your Own “Pain Points”: Tell us exactly what is stopping you from modernizing your curriculum, and help us design the solutions to those problems. Win-Win 

For Social Enterprises & Practitioners 

• Fix the skills gap: Make sure students graduate knowing how to actually run a modern, digital cooperative. 
• Find tech partners: Connect with “Tech4Good” innovators to help modernise your own operations. 
• Shape the talent: Tell us what business skills you need so we can put them in the curriculum. 

For Students 

• Build a real CV: Get “Design Lab” experience and a chance to join an international exchange in Poland. 
• High-level networking: Get in the room with social economy experts. 
• Learn by doing: Stop reading about social impact, start building digital solutions for it. 

This article has been co-funded by the European Union. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of  Cooperatives Europe and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.