The Community Service Learning team received eleven proposals in total for the Global Citizenship Award 2026. “The three selected projects demonstrate how learning extends beyond students’ own programme, discipline and day-to-day experiences. They create opportunities for students to learn from alumni, societal partners acting as co-educators, and peers in mbo education. In doing so, these projects contribute to education in which societal engagement, collaboration and reflection are central,” says project coordinator Galoeh Adrian Noviar.
Health Sciences with “A Broader Mind for Health Hackers”
In the Health Sciences master’s programme, Maiza Campos Ponce aims to strengthen collaboration between students and alumni through A Broader Mind for Health Hackers. In the pilot course, students already worked with alumni from fields including public health, healthcare innovation and non-profit organisations. These alumni brought in current casestudies and professional expertise, enabling students to connect their academic knowledge to complex challenges in healthcare.
In the next phase, Campos Ponce wants to develop the course even more through dialogue with alumni and societal partners. “This means that their perspectives, needs and experiences are included in the learning process from the very beginning,” says Campos Ponce.
International Business Administration with “Strengthening Societal Partnerships in IBA Lab 1 & 2”
With Strengthening Societal Partnerships, Ella Hafermalz and Christer Guldemond aim to deepen collaboration with societal partners within the bachelor’s programme in International Business Administration. In the second-year courses IBA Lab 1 and 2, students already work directly with organizations such as a community farm and a talent development initiative in Curaçao. Students conduct fieldwork, investigate a concrete issue, and present their findings to the organization involved.
With the grant, Hafermalz and Guldemond aim to make these collaborations more sustainable and more equal. “Partners do not only contribute a case, but also coach and guide students during the project. In addition, students build partner-specific AI chatbots, so that knowledge about the organizations can be passed on more effectively to new student groups,” says Hafermalz.
Sociology with “Exploring Collaboration Between VU Sociology & mbo Business Programmes”
With Exploring Collaboration, Joram Pach and Arjen de Wit will examine how Sociology students at VU Amsterdam can collaborate with mbo students from business programmes. The two groups bring different forms of expertise: VU students contribute academic knowledge of societal issues, while mbo students bring practical experience and an entrepreneurial perspective.
De Wit says: “Although university and vocational education students do not usually encounter each other during their studies, they are likely to do so later in their professional lives. With this grant, we will explore how students can learn from and with each other on an equal footing while they are still in education. Within existing project courses in the Sociology bachelor’s programme, collaboration with vocational education students could be a valuable addition: it teaches students to work together across disciplines, educational levels and lived experiences.”
Rector Magnificus Jeroen Geurts about the winning projects:
“What appeals to me about these projects is that they all pose the same important question: how do we prepare students for an increasingly complex world and for their role in it as global citizens? The Comenius Teaching Fellows are developing education that contributes to equal opportunities, personal development and new ways of learning. The Community Service Learning projects demonstrate how global citizenship can be made tangible by connecting education with societal challenges and collaboration beyond the university. Together, these initiatives make clear that good education goes far beyond the transfer of knowledge: it helps students take responsibility and actively shape their role in society. I warmly congratulate all the winners on this recognition and am incredibly proud of them and of VU.”