The Community University Partnership Programme at the University of Brighton aims to develop sustainable partnerships between the university and its local community that are of mutual benefit and that address issues of marginalisation and disadvantage. Its Student Community Engagement programme works to identify ways in which the student body might undertake community based activities as part of their accredited learning programmes which provide them with access to practitioner and experiential knowledge and that supplement their academic learning. A key feature of our SCE programme is the mutual benefit that accrues to students and communities through the sharing and co-creation of different forms of knowledge.
The Community University Partnership programme (CUPP) was established in 2003 with external funding to look at the benefits of community university engagement in a UK context. Founded on the belief that both parties could gain from collaborative working possibilities for research partnerships were explored during the first phase. Long term, sustainable relationships depend on those involved gaining from their investment in them, and mutual benefit and co-collaboration have become a principle of our work. The incorporation of Cupp into university core funding in 2008 provided the infrastructure to support the development of a range of university wide programmes and a strategy within the University's corporate plan.
The goal of the SCE programme is for students to explore their attitudes, values and aspirations in a real world context while making a contribution to the organisation they are working within. Cupp's core aims are to address issues of social justice, sustainability or marginalisation through mutually beneficial approaches to long term partnership working with voluntary and not for profit groups within the university's immediate locality. The SCE programme is run by a development manager working through a tutors' group formed of faculty members. The programme is overseen by a Steering group that includes student and community representatives.
This programme is based on the belief that • Practitioner knowledge and the knowledge that resides in communities needs to be viewed alongside academic knowledge for any holistic understanding of an issue within a specific context • The resources of a university should be made available to its local community, there is much to be gained in working alongside each other to address local problems • The opportunity to work with community members is a valuable one for students providing them with first hand experience of applying academic knowledge to a cultural and a policy context • Working within communities requires a level of emotional maturity that can best be developed through an experiential learning component. We work closely with community members and student representatives on all of our programme design and development and both are represented on our Cupp Steering group.
Our main cross university activities include The running of a module in Community Participation and Development, at levels 4,5 and 6 taken by 400 students a year. This involves students identifying an opportunity within a voluntary organisation which links to their degree area and their personal aspirations. Students on this programme have the option to work in small groups to identify and lead on a campaign The management of a student community research initiative where students undertake research for a local organisation as part of their Masters’ programme.
Additonal activities within the programme include the development of: A half degree in ‘The Politics of Social Change’ in applied social sciences A joint degree in Environment and Media in Environment and Technology A module in ‘partnership and participation with marginalised groups’ and ‘diseases with excluded populations’ in the Medical School A post graduate internship programme in Community Enterprise where students take a developmental or leadership role with a local community organisation for former graduates A module on social enterprise in the Business School where students write a business plan for a local Community Interest Company.
Students take leadership roles in the programme in a variety of ways. 1) A student union representative sits on our Steering group 2) The students union lead on a project linking students with Local Action Teams to ensure their participation within the communities in which they live and involving them in local decision making. This is accredited and involves action and reflection as part of their Community Participation Module. 3) Student interns are specifically required to take on project leadership roles within their host organisations as part of their Post graduate certificate in Community Enterprise 4) Students on the Community Participation module are able to choose projects from a range of organisations as part of their required 50 hours of experiential work. Those on Politics or Environment and Media courses are invited to identify, mobilise and lead on a campaign for their 50 hour projects. This group in particular take on a strong leadership role in deciding an issue, linking with a relevant group and identifying and leading on ways to take it forward within the public arena.
The programme has included 1500 students on the Community Participation module working on active projects, each impacting on a much larger number of clients. A student working on the Children’s holiday scheme would have provided close supervision of six children during that time, a study skills mentor in a school would have worked with a group of four young people while a prison mentor with one or two individuals before and after release. We have employed 6 student interns undertaking substantial development or leadership projects within community groups, and run twelve student led campaigns, raising awareness of issues as diverse as the implications for poorer students of cuts in education to recognizing heart failure and saving a life. We have paired 25 Master’s students with community research projects and published a guide to collaborative research. Our students testify to the value of their experience in learning more about themselves, their values and where they hope to work in the future. One commented: 'As students you live in an incubated world, this has enabled me to become part of a wider community and to feel much more whole, not just a part of student life. It has challenged my learning relative to the other courses I take, made me think about what i am actually learning and what it means for my life'. Another: The research project enabled me to build on my previous experience of questionnaires and interviews and added new experiences of actually dealing with people'. Community groups have testified to the youth, energy and enthusiasm that students bring and the potential to take on activities they would not otherwise be able to fund. One commented 'it has been fantastic for us to have someone with fresh ideas, motivation, listening skills and lots to give, we have benefitted enormously'.
The different elements of our programme share similar priorities: 1) Linking experiential and course based learning to enable students to apply theoretical knowledge to real world activity 2) A belief in the value of practitioner knowledge alongside academic knowledge and supporting students to gain a holistic understanding of the contextual, policy and theoretical issues surrounding a particular problem 3) A broad commitment to equality and social justice and an opportunity to identify your own value base and personal aspirations within these broad parameters.
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