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Higher education needs a better focus on service in the community
Community-engaged and service learning may not have the allure of Stem studies, but it needs to play a more central role in the curriculum.
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Service learning plays a central role in the undergraduate curriculum at the Singapore Institute of Technology.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Intan Azura Mokhtar
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Traditionally, institutions of higher learning (IHLs) have two important missions to fulfil. One is teaching and learning. The other is research and development, the discovery of new knowledge and intellectual breakthroughs. There is a third, undervalued mission, though – one that defines a new approach to education.
This third element is community-engaged and service learning. It combines a practical element of service in the community with study that leads to further academic development of the students involved.
