Service-learning as a core academic component in undergraduate programs - a brief introduction to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University model

Community engagement has been integrated into undergraduate programs to varying degrees in many universities. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in particular, has made it compulsory for all students to take at least one credit-bearing subject in Service-Learning (SL). Each SL subject is offered with purpose-designed academic teaching, rigorous service and structured assessment components. At full implementation, in each year, more than 2,800 students enrolled in 4-year full time undergraduate programs are expected to enrol in around 60 subjects offered by a wide range of departments and faculties across the university. They cover a diverse range of topics, such as digital divide, learning difficulties, engineering design, healthy living environments, orthotics, and eco-tourism, to name a few examples. The target beneficiaries are equally diverse: students serve slum dwellers, disabled people, children with HIV, villagers without water nor electricity, new immigrants, mentally ill patients, ethnic minorities, and so on.To date, they have served in Hong Kong, Chinese Mainland, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Rwanda. This paper reports on the pedagogical design of the program, challenges and strategies for implementation, and the experiences so far, with around 2,000 students enrolled in 2013-14.