Resources

This module is the result of collaboration between CIVIS Service Learning experts and the alliance's pedagogical innovation area.

The CIVIS Moodle is the alliance's common learning platform. Although some courses are taught on the universities' local platforms, the CIVIS Moodle includes a significant part of CIVIS' educational offering

In this report, we want to explore to what extent it would be possible to propose a modular educational offer that would reconcile civic engagement with the acquisition of competencies that allow learners to adapt to a (personal, social, occupational) changing context. In order to do so, it is necessary to take into account both the pedagogical particularities of the micro-credentials and the very vision and structure of CIVIS.

CIVIS, Europe’s Civic University Alliance, brings together 11 research universities to advance a strong challenge‑based educational model that equips students to address real societal and environmental issues. By combining civic engagement, inter‑ and transdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships with local stakeholders through Open Labs, CIVIS ensures that learning is grounded in authentic, complex challenges linked to the SDGs. This digital guidebook is based on our best practices.

Digitalisation has reshaped education, not only through hybrid formats and learning platforms but also by mirroring broader cultural shifts in how young people communicate, access information and create content. These changes raise new questions about teaching roles, assessment and the purpose of the classroom, while highlighting risks such as unreliable information and loss of attention. The CIVIS alliance offers a collaborative framework to address these challenges through four pillars: understanding digital and hybrid teaching, using instructional design for coherent online courses, co‑creating programmes across universities, and applying CIVIS Moodle supported by dedicated guidance.

The CIVIS Expert Group Service-Learning has created and made available the CIVIS Service-Learning Guide for Lecturers at all CIVIS universities and associate member Universities in Africa in 2024. The guide aims to offer lecturers at all CIVIS universities a tool for better combining academic knowledge with civic engagement in their educational activities, by applying the pedagogical approach of service-learning.