Community Engaged Learning in Higher Education

Andy Pitchford is Head of the Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation (CETI) at the University of Westminster, UK.Pooja Thomas is Associate Professor and Chair of the Centre for Learning and Innovative Pedagogy at MICA, Ahmedabad, India.Sonal Purohit is Associate Professor at the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management-Nagpur, Symbiosis International University, India.

"The Third UNESCO Conference on Higher Education in 2022 made a strong plea for community engagement as part of both teaching/learning and research/knowledge missions of higher education. The New Education Policy (2020) in India also emphasised community engagement and social responsibility in post-secondary education. While practice of community engagement in India is not new, mutual learning with community knowledge is certainly somewhat new. This book brings a comparative perspective between such learning stories from India and UK. The decolonial lens, though somewhat different in the two contexts, nevertheless provides useful pedagogical insights. The challenge of decolonial community engagement in India is to navigate diversity of languages and cultures, where local knowledge resides. This book furthers this discourse in India, contributing to further models of innovative pedagogies."Rajesh Tandon, Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education.

• An Introduction to Community-Engaged Learning in the UK and IndiaAndy Pitchford and Pooja ThomasChapter 1: MICA’s Unique Rural Immersion Program: Combining Experiential Learning and Community-Engaged Learning SynergisticallyKallol Das and Yogesh MungraChapter 2: Engaging Students, Transforming Communities: The Empowering London ModuleSophie Clutterbuck and Vanessa AirthChapter 3: Decolonising Community-Engaged Learning in the Built Environment: Lessons from Theory and PracticeMarie Xypaki, Gemma Moore, Elena Besussi, and David OwenChapter 4: The Urban Fellows Programme: Pedagogical Approaches to Urban Practice at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, BangaloreShriya Anand, Gautam Bhan, Sudeshna Mitra, and Neha SamiChapter 5: Immersion and Transformative Research in Higher EducationAnup Dhar and Shyam MenonChapter 6: Engaging Students and Communities through Research: The Science Shop at Queen’s University BelfastEmma McKenna and David OwenChapter 7: Of Goats and Garbage: Teaching the Subaltern CityGauri BharatChapter 8: Community Organising in the UK Higher Education Sector: How Membership of Civic Alliances Enables Universities to Strengthen DemocracyTim HallConclusion: Reimagining Higher Education through a Decolonial LensRahul Bishnoi and Sonal Purohit