United by the Pacific Ocean and the Uniservitate global network, two Catholic universities implementing service-learning pedagogy in Asia and Latin America have forged closer ties and planned joint initiatives. Last December, A professor and two undergraduates from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) visited De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila, Philippines, to exchange experiences, deepen mutual knowledge and strengthen their service-learning practices. Both universities are Uniservitate hub referents for the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia and Oceania, respectively.
Brother Bernard S. Oca FSC, president of DLSU, Ms. Fritzie Ian De VeraVice President for the Lasallian Mission, together with other members of the university, received the representatives of the Catholic University of Chile, Ms. Rocío Fontana Venegas, Mr. Ignacio Laval Román and Ms. Julianna Jiménez Salinas
The teaching development centre for public engagement of the Chilean university, (Centro de Desarrollo Docente para el Compromiso Público), arranged the visit, thanks to funds from the Chilean Ministry of Education supporting internationalization programmes. Professor Rocío Fontana Venegas and students Ignacio Laval Román (Civil Engineering) and Julianna Jiménez Salinas (Anthropology) represented the UC.
The DLSU authorities welcomed the Chilean delegation, and the guests attended presentations on the research and sustainable development initiatives carried out at the Asian university while sharing in-depth discussions with the team of the Center for Social Concern and Action (COSCA), led by Juanito D. Alcazar, implementing service-learning projects. They also visited two of COSCA’s community partners in Tondo, Manila, the Upskills Foundation and Concerned Parents for Children Development, where they met with youth and adults participating in service-learning projects. In addition, they met with educators engaged in service-learning practices to identify possible cross-cultural online initiatives they could co-implement.
Exchanges contributing to collaborative work in service-learning
‘I learned a lot, not only about the meaning they give to service-learning, but also about the way and their progressive implementation at the institutional level, keeping it in most of the university courses, as it is also our case,’ said Juliana Jímenez in a UC article about the visit to the Philippines [in Spanish]. In that article, Ignacio Laval highlighted the similarities between the two universities: ‘Although we are on opposite sides of the world, many of our visions and experiences are very similar.’
The President of DLSU, Br. Bernie Oca FSC, Vice President for Lasallian Mission Ms. Fritzie Ian De Vera, and Vice President for External Relations and Internationalization Dr. Anthony Shun Fung Chiu welcomed the guests. An engaging and insightful conversation took place regarding the service-learning initiatives of both institutions.
The UC visit highlighted a training session on the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Program, where 25 SL faculty members joined and identified potential courses for cross-cultural online projects and discussions. The training was capped with reflections on commonalities and opportunities for a continued partnership.
