Community Engaged Learning Expansion
Creating community engaged learning opportunities that increase students' impact, social connectedness, and employability skills while fostering stronger partnerships with the local community.
Project Lead: Careers & Experience, Student Experience
Project Status: Complete
The Community Engaged Learning (CEL) expansion provides students the opportunity to take their skills beyond the classroom and into the community. Students partner with groups, individuals and organizations in the London region to tackle important problems and issues, while earning course credit. The Parr Centre funds were allocated to nonprofit partnering organizations and to CEL course instructors to help support the projects that students co-created with community partners. The initiative helps students build relationships beyond campus and feel a sense of connection to London as their home while providing opportunities to apply their knowledge, strengthen their skills, and explore meaningful career paths through experiential learning.
In summary...
- Grants were awarded to 20 community partners and 5 course instructors.
- Courses ranged from first year to master’s level, and across faculties and departments, including Arts and Humanities, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Health Sciences, Don Wright Faculty of Music, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Science, and Social Science.
- 906 students engaged in projects that addressed community-identified needs on topics such as urban agriculture, sustainability, food security, addiction recovery, mental health, youth education, and health promotion.
- Students had a positive experience and felt the program helped them to feel more connected to the London community. The project topics allowed them to feel a sense of empowerment and that they could generate change.
- Community partners were pleased with the work of the students and found the support to be meaningful to their projects.
