Needs Analysis for Developing a Social-Scientific Issue-Based Project Model to Enhance Science Literacy and Socio Technopreneurship Among University Students

Higher education in the era of Society 5.0 requires graduates to go beyond mastering pure scientific theory; they must also be capable of creating tangible, technology-based solutions that generate social impact and economic value. However, current realities reveal a gap between academic curricula and the actual demands of society. This study aims to conduct a needs analysis for the development of a project-based learning model integrated with Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI), designed to enhance students' scientific literacy and sociotechnopreneurship character. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach as part of a preliminary Research and Development (R&D) study, the research involved 40 science educators selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected via questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that the current implementation of project-based learning is suboptimal: 42% of educators use it only occasionally, while 27% report using it rarely or never. Nevertheless, there is a high level of interest and a strong sense of urgency, with 90% of respondents expressing a positive view and emphasizing the critical need to implement an SSI-based project model. The study concludes that developing an SSI-based project learning model is an urgent necessity for reforming rigid science pedagogy. Such a model would help cultivate innovative graduates who possess scientific acumen, social empathy, and business agility all aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).