@inproceedings{8721572,
  abstract     = {{In times when universities are becoming more aware of their role (third mission), new forms of learning with/for society are becoming more popular across Europe. Engaged Learning (EL) is one form of this learning. We define EL as the process where students apply the theory learned at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to a context outside of the HEI by addressing societal concerns, challenges, or needs while producing knowledge in an equitable, mutually beneficial partnership. A large emphasis for our project has been on the concept of reciprocity, whereby the community not only receives a service by those in HEIs but are also actively involved, engaged, and contribute to the overall learning process. 

As seen from our research, the EL initiatives were always welcomed and appreciated because of their practical, and overall, beneficial contributions both on a personal, particularly for the students, and community levels. Overall, EL policies and examples from our research have been quite diverse; however, this was always viewed as a strengthening factor; EL thrives in its uniqueness and interdisciplinarity.

From our research, EL, when officially recognised, is done on a mostly ad hoc basis within universities, and varies even more when looked at from a country level perspective. Certainly, within the EU there is no systematic approach to EL at the HEI level. Though these initiatives take a lot of personal dedication and commitment to oversee the completion, they cannot be sustained without funding and this is a serious issue many HEIs face. Strategic planning for how to plan successful and sustainable EL initiatives with tight budgets is an important consideration that perhaps universities could, or should, be more involved with. 

We aim to push forward the agenda of the University as a part of an ecosystem of knowledge production addressing public problem-solving. With this framework in mind, addressing the concept of EL at an early stage (such as the PhD level) has been thought most prudent in pushing forward this agenda. Though of course not every PhD researcher will go on to work in university or teaching roles, most of those who do enter those roles have completed a PhD. If given the tools before teaching even begins, it becomes easier to implement them into course material rather than re-working courses that were never envisioned to have such elements. Further, those who do not take up roles within academia may very well end up in positions where they can broker the role of EL from the community perspective, which is equally necessary in this equation and has the potential to further spread the impact of EL across Belgium and beyond.

Our results will include reflections on the student’s expectations prior to the seminars and their evaluations thereafter. What we have found is that there is a desire to have more awareness of and connections with local communities in their research. While this is a good starting basis, there is still a need for more sustainable trainings in the future.}},
  author       = {{Klima, Noel and Marsh, Courtney}},
  booktitle    = {{European Conference on Service-Learning in Higher Education, 4th, Abstracts}},
  keywords     = {{Engaged learning,Transdisciplinarity,Interdisciplinarity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Hybrid (Bucharest, Romania & online)}},
  title        = {{An introduction to engaged learning for early career researchers : finding the best formula for an under exposed target group}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}