At VU Amsterdam, teachers across all faculties actively embrace a form of Engaged Learning, a pedagogy that involves students and teachers working alongside external partners, including CSOs, government bodies, businesses, and local communities. This approach, known by many names such as Stakeholder Engaged Learning, Community Service Learning or Transdisciplinary Education, focuses on experiential education to address real-world societal challenges.
Many of us recognise the importance of breaking free from the confines of the university and venturing beyond its boundaries. Yet, establishing and nurturing partnerships demands substantial time and effort from faculty members. Our vision is to foster collaboration among educators sharing similar values, providing them with the tools and assistance necessary to seamlessly integrate this impactful educational approach into their courses and pursuits.
That is why we launched this initiative and conducted a pilot in 2024 to identify the needs of lecturers and societal partners and determine the support they require. We are pleased to announce that, with the help of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), we can continue our pilot in 2025 and further enhance our service for teachers and staff members who share our commitment to this form of education. We warmly welcome any feedback or suggestions to help us improve, so feel free to reach out!
