5th Workshop of the ApS(U)CAT Network Service learning at university

Sharing experiences about service learning at university is the objective of the 5th Workshop of the ApS(U)CAT Network, which will take place on May 21st, at the main hall of the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona. The workshop has been organized by the Service Learning Network of the Catalan Universities with participation of UOC.

Service learning is a teaching and research proposal that integrates community service with academic learning in a single project, what allows students to learn while working on actual needs of their environment with the objective of improving it. In this framework, service learning may prompt proposals that involve different disciplines and work spaces, but all of them share a perspective of compromise and social responsibility on the part of the university.

In this line, UOC works on a participatory final research papers project, which has already counted with the participation of seventeen undergraduate and graduate students and which connects UOC’s studies with the real research needs of civil society organizations.

The workshop counts with Nieves Tapia, founder and director of the Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje y Servicio Solidario (CLAYSS), Argentina, as a main speaker, who will offer a conference about service learning and higher education, linking service learning to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. Also the workshop, the Guide 0: Doing service learning at university will be presented. This guide has been published recently by the Service learning network of the Catalan universities with the support of ACUP.

The ApS(U)CAT Network was created in 2015 as a space for sharing experiences and for building knowledge regarding the promotion, implementation evaluation and institutionalization of service learning in the context of the Catalan universities. UOC’s participation in this network is part of the University’s commitment to open knowledge.