Enriching service learning by its diversity: Combining university service learning and corporate social responsibility to help the NGOs adapt technology to their needs

Abstract

Community-based service learning helps students link subject matter to everyday life and developing sense of responsibility to their community. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Both promote civic engagement but the two hardly come across each other. We explore the process that enriched service learning with its diversity by combining CSR practices of a multinational software company. It begins by exploring different forms of action research with a focus on action engagement to improve students’ involvement in marginalized communities. The article provides field-based reflections of the sustained engagement and suggests ways in which service learning experiences may create rooms for innovation and growth in the non-profit sector, local communities, businesses, and students themselves.