How universities can embed community engagement into learning

Universities often speak about preparing students for the real world. Yet much of what students do remains within the university itself. They attend classes, read books and articles, discuss ideas with their teachers and classmates, and write assignments that are usually read by a lecturer and then put aside. There is nothing wrong with this. It is, after all, how much of university education works. But it can also create a distance between what students learn and the people, communities and problems that exist beyond the campus.

This is where community engagement can make a difference. It can give students opportunities to learn from people and organisations outside the university and to see how the knowledge they gain in the classroom connects with the world around them. They may work with a local organisation, learn from practitioners or communities, or take part in projects that respond to real questions and concerns.

But there is a problem. Too often, these opportunities depend on individual lecturers. A lecturer may have a relationship with a local organisation and decide to involve students in its work. Another may redesign a module around a community project. These initiatives can be valuable for students and communities alike. Yet they can also depend heavily on the time, interest and personal connections of the person leading them. If that lecturer leaves, moves to another role or simply no longer has the time to continue the work, the initiative may end with them.

Community engagement should not depend entirely on whether a student happens to have a particularly committed or well-connected lecturer. If universities want students to learn with and from communities in a meaningful way, they need to think beyond individual classrooms. This means looking at the curriculum and asking what different parts of the university can do to support it. It should begin with the curriculum

Community engagement is often treated as something additional. A lecturer finds an opportunity outside the classroom and tries to fit it into an existing course. Sometimes this works well. But universities could take a different approach and consider where engagement with communities might naturally fit within a programme of study.

Not every course needs to involve a community partner. Nor should universities send students into communities simply to say that they are providing “real-world learning”. The question should be whether engagement would actually help students learn something that they could not learn in quite the same way from a lecture, reading or classroom exercise.

It may also be useful to think about how this develops over the course of a degree. Students in their first year may need to learn about communities, ethics and the responsibilities that come with working with people outside the university. They may need to understand that they are not simply going somewhere to apply their knowledge to other people's problems.
Later, they might take part in smaller projects or assignments informed by the experiences and priorities of external organisations.

By their final years, they may be better prepared to work on longer projects, placements, fieldwork or research with community partners.
This would give students time to develop the skills they need. Working with communities requires more than academic knowledge.

Students need to know how to listen, communicate and work with people whose experiences may be very different from their own. They also need to think about power. Universities and students may have resources and expertise, but communities have knowledge too. A meaningful partnership has to recognise that.

Where appropriate, this work should also be connected to learning outcomes and assessment. If community engagement is always something students do in addition to their studies, it is likely to remain an activity for those who have extra time or happen to be particularly interested. Building it into the curriculum makes clear that learning beyond the university is part of education rather than an optional extra.

Lecturers would still have an important role. They understand their subjects and are responsible for helping students make sense of what they experience. They can design learning activities and create opportunities for students to connect theory with practice. But they should not have to do everything themselves.

Finding partners, maintaining relationships, arranging practical details and dealing with ethical or safeguarding questions can take a considerable amount of time. Many universities already have people and teams whose work could help. There may be staff responsible for community or public engagement, partnerships, student development or careers. Researchers may also have existing relationships with organisations and communities.
The problem is that these different parts of the university do not always work together.

Someone designing a curriculum may not know about relationships another department has already developed. A lecturer may spend months trying to find a suitable partner without realising that colleagues elsewhere in the university are already working with an organisation that has similar interests. At the same time, community organisations can find themselves being approached separately by different academics and departments, each with a new project or request.

Universities could do more to connect these efforts. Partnership and engagement teams, for example, could work with academic departments when programmes and modules are being developed rather than being brought in only after someone decides that they need an external partner. They could help maintain relationships so that these do not disappear when an individual member of staff leaves.

University leaders and department heads also have a role to play. Community-engaged teaching takes time. If universities say that they value it, they need to consider whether staff are actually given the time and support to do it well. It cannot simply become another responsibility added to an already full workload.

Perhaps the most important question is what universities mean when they talk about community engagement. It should not mean identifying a community, deciding what its problems are and sending students to find solutions. Nor should organisations be expected to repeatedly give their time and knowledge because students need experience.

Communities and their organisations should have a say in whether they want to work with a university and, if they do, what that work should involve. They know their own priorities and concerns. A university may bring particular knowledge or resources, but it does not automatically know what is needed.

This also means being realistic about what students can contribute. A group of students working on a project for a few weeks is unlikely to solve a complex problem. Universities should be careful not to create unrealistic expectations for either students or partners. Sometimes students may make a useful contribution. At other times, the most important outcome may be what they learn from listening and understanding a different perspective.

Students, too, should have a role in shaping these experiences. They can contribute ideas, identify issues they want to explore and reflect on what worked and what did not. Their feedback can help universities understand whether an activity was genuinely connected to learning or simply an additional task.

Some of the best community-engaged initiatives will always begin with an individual. Someone sees an opportunity, has an existing relationship or is willing to try something different. Universities should encourage that.
But if an initiative proves valuable, it should not necessarily end with the person who started it.

There may be ways to support it more widely. A partnership could become part of a programme rather than one lecturer''s module. Different cohorts of students could build on previous work instead of starting from the beginning each year. Staff who manage partnerships could help maintain relationships over time.

This does not mean turning every relationship into a complicated administrative process. Community engagement depends on trust, and trust cannot simply be created through a university policy. But some support and continuity are necessary if universities want these relationships to last.

The wider point is that taking learning beyond campus should not be seen only as the responsibility of lecturers. Curriculum designers can consider where it fits within programmes. University leaders can provide support and recognise the work involved. Partnership and professional services teams can help build and maintain relationships. Students can help shape and evaluate the learning. Communities can decide what meaningful engagement looks like from their perspective.

If universities want to prepare students for a world beyond the campus, perhaps they need to think more carefully about how that world becomes part of education in the first place. Community engagement is unlikely to become meaningful or sustainable when it depends only on the efforts of a few committed lecturers. It needs to be something that different parts of the university work towards together.

That may take time. It may also look different across disciplines and institutions. But the starting point is simple: if universities want students to learn beyond their walls, they need to make room for that learning within the way they design education.

In increasingly competitive graduate job markets, high CGPAs are no longer enough to stand out. Recruiters are searching for graduates who can step straight into a professional environment with practical capabilities. This is particularly true in sectors like development, where real-world experience, contextual awareness, and field-readiness are a major plus. By embedding community engagement into university learning, students gain direct experience working alongside local organisations, navigating complex field dynamics, and solving practical problems.

These hands-on collaborations provide more than just academic context, they build a compelling CV backed by real-world impact and functional skills. Ultimately, this approach helps bridge the gap between higher education and meaningful employment, giving freshers a distinct advantage when entering the job market.Making it part of the university
Some of the best community-engaged initiatives will always begin with an individual. Someone sees an opportunity, has an existing relationship or is willing to try something different. Universities should encourage that.
But if an initiative proves valuable, it should not necessarily end with the person who started it.

There may be ways to support it more widely. A partnership could become part of a programme rather than one lecturer''s module. Different cohorts of students could build on previous work instead of starting from the beginning each year. Staff who manage partnerships could help maintain relationships over time.

This does not mean turning every relationship into a complicated administrative process. Community engagement depends on trust, and trust cannot simply be created through a university policy. But some support and continuity are necessary if universities want these relationships to last.

The wider point is that taking learning beyond campus should not be seen only as the responsibility of lecturers. Curriculum designers can consider where it fits within programmes. University leaders can provide support and recognise the work involved. Partnership and professional services teams can help build and maintain relationships. Students can help shape and evaluate the learning. Communities can decide what meaningful engagement looks like from their perspective.

If universities want to prepare students for a world beyond the campus, perhaps they need to think more carefully about how that world becomes part of education in the first place. Community engagement is unlikely to become meaningful or sustainable when it depends only on the efforts of a few committed lecturers. It needs to be something that different parts of the university work towards together.

That may take time. It may also look different across disciplines and institutions. But the starting point is simple: if universities want students to learn beyond their walls, they need to make room for that learning within the way they design education.

In increasingly competitive graduate job markets, high CGPAs are no longer enough to stand out. Recruiters are searching for graduates who can step straight into a professional environment with practical capabilities. This is particularly true in sectors like development, where real-world experience, contextual awareness, and field-readiness are a major plus.

By embedding community engagement into university learning, students gain direct experience working alongside local organisations, navigating complex field dynamics, and solving practical problems. These hands-on collaborations provide more than just academic context, they build a compelling CV backed by real-world impact and functional skills. Ultimately, this approach helps bridge the gap between higher education and meaningful employment, giving freshers a distinct advantage when entering the job market.

* Mosaddak Bin Shorif is a communications and advocacy professional