SLS-4b3 Explosion - How does OSL take the lead in the expansion?

OSL was set up with a mandate to promote the development of service-learning at PolyU.  As such, it strives to promote the original development of impactful service-learning.  This may involve all aspects including new subjects, projects, sites, partners, pedagogies, programs, procedures, quality control mechanisms, alliances, strategies, validation and research.  

At the PolyU, the actually offering of SL subjects, similar to all other academic subjects,  is the responsibility of the academic departments.  OSL can collaborate with academic departments in the original development of the subjects and associated project.  It can also collaborate with academic departments in offering these subject, in the form of co-teaching, or co-supervision of project, etc., particularly at the beginning to ensure that innovative and experimental practices are setup successfully.  But it does not and cannot offer these subjects by itself.  It also does not and cannot support the routine operations of SL classes for any extensive duration.  Based on this principle of division of work, it does assist academic departments in designing and experimenting with different ways to run large classes in order to meet the demand.  But it does not support the teaching of large classes for long periods of time.  It is simply not feasible, for a small department like the OSL, to support large scale routine work.  

OSL does strive to improve and innovate, for better learning for our students, and greater benefits for the communities.  OSL is always seeking collaboration with academic departments or individual academic staff in experimenting with innovative pedagogy, new types of services, new partners, unexplored sites and countries, new forms of partnership, …  On the other hand, we recognise the benefit of long-term relationships with partners and communities, which provides the platform and mutual-trust for truly sustainable,  impactful solutions.  

Fortunately, innovation and long term relationships are not mutually exclusive.  A long-term sustainable relationship actually provides a solid platform to innovate. There must be mutual trust before two parties feel secure enough to take the risk to innovate, to try something new.  The more innovative the new initiative, the more risks are generally involved. Hence the stronger the mutual trust is needed before the two sides feel secure enough to take the risk.  PolyU, through OSL, has built up a strong partnership with a number of organisations in Cambodia and Rwanda over many years.  The strong relationship enable us to continue to develop innovative projects - which in turn strengthen the relationship with these NGOs.   As a consequence, we can send multiple teams with a large number of students to the same country, even the same site, to carry out ambitious, challenging projects with confidence.  

It is the routine, repeated execution of the same projects, once it is developed and stabilised, that OSL leaves to academic departments to support.  There is room, indeed a need, for such projects - as long as the community continues to benefits from it.  For the obvious reason that each year there is a new generation of students enrolling in the same class.  From the perspective of the new generation of students, the project may be new and challenging.  This situation is similar to that of many academic subjects, whose content may not change each year.  Academic departments are well equipped to offer this type of subjects.  Hence OSL can concentrate on newer initiatives. 

However, if teachers of an established subject wishes to experiment with a new type of project, take students to a new site, engage a new community, add an interesting new partner, etc., OSL will be happy to collaborate on the innovative elements.