Community Engaged Learning refers to a 'course-based, credit-bearing educational experience that allows students to, (a) participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and (b) reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility' (Bringle and Hatcher, 1995)
As the first Irish third-level institution to make cooperative educational placements core to every programme, the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ has pioneered community-engaged learning since its very foundation.
As the interest in civic engagement at third level has grown, UL continues to lead.
Community Engaged Learning ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ
Co-designed with local communities, the CWELL diploma programme works with a range of local partners to offer community wellness, empowerment, leadership and life skills. Every year, CWELL students are joined by graduate students on the Professional Diploma in Civic Engagement and the Masters programme in Community Research to devise, develop and deliver community-based projects to address identified needs.
As well as enabling UL students to experience community learning, we are keen for communities to learn with UL. The UL Access Office provides support and encouragement to primary, post-primary and third level students from under-represented socio-economic backgrounds. These supports are offered across a number of programmes. Primary schools are supported by the Academy for Children programme. Second level students are supported by a variety of programmes run in-school and on-campus.
Formal Community Engaged Learning With Our African Partners: Introducing 'The Quartet'
The Quartet unites three South African universities - , and the – with the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ in a partnership to develop Community Engaged Learning qualifications in each of the participating universities, based on the CWELL model of community engaged learning. The collaboration is conceptualised around the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concluded between the universities which aims foster a deeper understanding of critical community engagement processes among higher education scholars, practitioners, and administrators.
Informal Community Learning With Our Global Community
UL Engage is proud to partner with the (IFWEA) – a global federation of worker educators focused on for trade unions, worker support NGOs, and community based organisations in Belgium, Bolivia, Cambodia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The IFWEA ethos as educators is not to concentrate on what is to be done, but on what must be learned, in order to formulate what is to be done. UL Engage is an affiliate member of IFWEA and represented on their Executive Board, contributing to IFWEA programmes and strategy.
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
If you are module leader in UL and would like to add a COIL element to your existing curriculum, UL Engage connects our international partners with EMERGE partners to develop COIL opportunities for UL staff. COIL mini-projects enable you to internationalize your module in an environmentally sustainable way. COIL mini-projects can be included as part of your existing curriculum by simply including a team-based exercise which your students will complete with a partner student team in one of our Alliance universities. For more information and support, contact the UL Engage team.
Engaged Learning Resources
Comhrá is the Irish word for conversation or chat. Comhrá video vignettes  present a series of curated conversations with a variety of community partners, giving their insights, advice and experiences regarding best practices in community engagement and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). Each video presents a selection of conversations around key themes including: ;