Community engaged learning: A building engineering case study

ABSTRACT: Community engaged learning is a form of experiential education with a civic underpinning. Community engaged learning is embedded with the civil engineering curriculum at NUI Galway and is framed by a research orientation, commitments to civic engagement and building university-community partnerships, city-university partnerships and partnerships with other official agencies, so that community users can provide real learning problems and contexts for students and researchers and benefit from the results. This paper presents the positive experience of the authors in facilitating over 300 community engaged learning projects undertaken by undergraduate students in civil engineering at NUI Galway. The paper highlights how well the outlined approach fits with the ideas of engaged scholarship and civic professionalism. Students recognise the long-term value of engaging with community partners, understanding their future role in the community as engineers, reinforcing the idea that their work can respond directly to real needs in the community.The authors would like to acknowledge the funding received from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the GEOFIT project (Grant agreement no. 792210) and TURNKEY RETROFIT project (Grant agreement No 839134), as well as the support of Science Foundation Ireland through the MaREI Centre (Grant No. 12/RC/2302_2). Special thanks is given to all the community partners who engaged with students, the CKI at NUI Galway for assisting with developing the initial partnerships and the ongoing support from Campus Engage within the Irish Universities Association.peer-reviewe