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EASLHE

5th ECSLHE
Service-Learning for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Rotterdam

Focusing on the contemporary challenges of university-community engagement and partnerships, the 5th European Conference on Service-Learning in Higher Education offered space and time for critical reflection on community engagement, the need for embedding service-learning in the curriculum, and the value of practical experiences in service-learning for students, teachers, and community partners. The conference was a source of exchange of knowledge from the field of practice and research of service-learning and building networks in this field.

Full Programme
5th EUROEPAN CONFERECE ON SERVICE-LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Conference book
Conference Theme: Service-Learning for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Governments, local communities, (future) employers, and even students are pressuring higher education institutions to innovate and adapt their teaching to (global) citizenship’s changing demands. One major and important focus point is the common agenda of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed, they are global goals, creating possibilities for (local/national) Service-Learning all around the globe.

The theme of the 5th European Conference on Service-Learning in Higher Education aimed at exploring the connection between Service-Learning and the SDG journey of students, communities (community organizations) and higher education institutions.

  • A first level of questions focused on the relation between service-learning and the SDGs, addressing questions such as: What is the state of the art of the relationship between SL and SDGs in Europe? What is the basis for this relationship? How do instructors prioritize between the SDGs that are part of their course? How do we design service-learning courses that have impact on one or more of the SDGs? How can impact on the SDGs of service-learning be proved?
  • A second level of questions focused on the impact of service-learning on the sensibility for SDGs of students, communities, community organizations and higher education institutions, addressing questions like: How do we design service-learning courses that actually transform our students into deeper understanding of (one or more) SDGs? How can service-learning courses be used to change higher education institutions to become more SDG minded? How can service-learning help to achieve communities to use the SDG agenda this?
  • A third perspective was about the potential to use the SDG agenda to improve service-learning, for example making service-learning more holistic, multidisciplinary, interuniversity and international.