Lester Mpolokeng, director for SCI, says if community engagement efforts are not registered, its impact cannot be fully recognised, verified or measured.
Maribe Mamabolo, senior manager for scholarship of engagement and impact, says community engagement can start with something as simple as volunteering or philanthropy and can grow into meaningful change in society.
The Sustainability and Community Impact (SCI) team recently took its community engagement message to all three North-West University (NWU) campuses, giving colleagues a chance to connect, share their experiences and learn more about how they can make a difference in the communities around them.
Through a series of social and community impact engagement breakfasts, colleagues who are already involved in community engagement, as well as those who would like to get involved, came together to share ideas, talk about challenges and learn from one another. The engagements focused on three areas that can help strengthen community engagement across NWU.
Making community engagement visible
One of the key messages from the engagements was the need to register community engagement projects on the NWU’s database. While colleagues are doing meaningful work in communities, not all of these activities are being recorded. Registering these projects helps the NWU build a clearer picture of the work taking place across the university and the difference it is making.
“There is a lot of valuable community engagement taking place across the NWU, but if it is not registered, we cannot fully recognise, verify or measure its impact,” says Lester Mpolokeng, director for SCI.
Colleagues were encouraged to register their community engagement projects, regardless of their size or scope. This helps the university to keep track of the work being done, recognise those involved and better understand its impact.
Maribe Mamabolo, senior manager for scholarship of engagement and impact, says community engagement can take many forms and can develop over time.
“Community engagement can start with something as simple as volunteering or philanthropy, but it can grow into discipline-based outreach, engaged teaching and learning, research and, ultimately, meaningful change in society. Every project has a place in that journey.”
Getting postgraduate students involved
Another key focus was finding ways to involve more postgraduate students in community engagement. This can help students connect their studies and research to real challenges in communities, while also creating opportunities to share knowledge and strengthen research. The engagements also stressed the importance of seeing communities as partners, rather than simply as people receiving knowledge from the university. Communities should have opportunities to share their ideas, contribute to research and help find solutions to issues that affect them.
Building stronger relationships
These meetings also showed the value of bringing community engagement practitioners together across the three campuses. Sharing experiences and discussing common challenges can help colleagues learn from one another and find practical solutions. It also helps build stronger relationships between the SCI office, academics and other colleagues involved in community engagement. Just as importantly, strong relationships with communities and external stakeholders help ensure that the NWU’s work responds to real needs and creates lasting value.
The Sustainability and Community Impact team recently took its community engagement message to the NWU’s Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark campuses.
