Purpose: The Service-Learning/ Community Engaged Learning (SL/CEL) Network in the United Kingdom (UK) aims to become the national Community of Practice for HE practitioners who work in partnership with communities for positive social change and for enhancing student learning.
There is a growing interest from HE practitioners to enhance their knowledge of SL/CEL pedagogies. Since there is no Network in the UK that could support HE practitioners with their SL/CEL journey, we have been working together to develop a national Network since January 2020 drawing on the advice and expertise of colleagues in similar networks in the USA and Europe.
Role: The role of the SL/CEL Network in the UK is to:
1. Position the network as the national Community of Practice for practitioners engaged in Service-Learning/Community Engaged Learning (SL/CEL) in the United Kingdom (UK).
2. Develop initiatives that increase the identity, visibility and value of SL/CEL in the UK.
3. Document the landscape of SL/CEL in the UK to create a connected Community of Practice.
4. Support practitioners to reflect or respond to the UK policy landscape.
5. Develop a scholarly, collegiate community open to collaboration on research and publications.
6. Facilitate regular conferences, forums and meetings to share knowledge and best practice.
7. Encourage and support the co-creation of work with the community in all SL/CEL practice.
8. Be a policy voice for SL/CEL in a changing UK Higher Education environment.
Membership:This Network is open to every HE Practitioner who wishes to develop their SL/CEL practice, share their own learning and aspire to build university-community relations based on mutual benefit.
Membership is open to HE professionals focused on creating social impact such as:
- Academics
- Community Engagement practitioners
- Public Engagement practitioners
- Student volunteering practitioners
- Impact Managers
- Researchers
- Teaching Fellows
- Any other HE practitioner interested in SL/CEL
The Membership is informal and by joining you will:
- Be able to attend the SL/CEL events and activities
- Access a platform that will allow you to share your practice
- Source advice from other practitioners in the sector
- Have the opportunity to participate in collaborative projects
Our Members are welcome to contribute their own ideas about events and projects.
- To join the SL/CELNetwork, please sign up to the ServiceLearning@JISCmail.
- For any queries about the Network and our future events, email Andy on andy.coppins@ntu.ac.uk.
The Network Committee is comprised by Academics, Public Engagement Practitioners and Teaching Fellows from the below HEIs:
- University College London
- De Montfort University
- Nottingham Trent University
- King’s College London
A committee position lasts for 2 years, and the members vote on replacements each year at the annual conference. A committee member can re-stand.
Activities: Since April 2020, the Network has initiated the below activities:
- A Virtual Conference
- Webinars
- Virtual Coffee sessions
We will keep developing events and activities and share learning. Our Members are also welcome to initiate and host events through the Network.
Amendment: This is a Network under development and the Terms of Reference might be amended as the work of the Network progresses. Any changes will be communicated with the membership through the JISCmail group.
Learn more about the Service-Learning/Community Engaged Learning UK Network.