UNIVERSITY-SOCIETY NEXUS

Learning institutions can add value to communities – Dr. Muneer Muhamed

Universities are a major part of the social ecosystems they’re located in, and both parties need each other to survive and thrive in a world that’s fragmenting rapidly.

These universities must create better educated professionals who will serve their communities well. And the communities in turn will send their youth to those academic institutions to obtain an education for a sustainable livelihood.

Though Sri Lanka doesn’t see much knowledge co-creation between universities and society, globally there is regular interaction that includes internships in local businesses, guest faculty from the local industry and even some industry funded projects.

Interestingly, African and South American experiments show that knowledge co-creation and sharing can be a great way to solve the problems of society, and reduce the impact of the environment on people.

Even if local universities haven’t put more effort into solving societal issues, the least they can do is to not create disharmony and disquiet in the communities they’re located in. In times of crisis, relying on solid relationships makes a difference.

A university in Havelock, Canada, and the local community worked together to either halt or significantly alter a proposal for a huge potash mine, which would disrupt local livelihoods.

The academia facilitated the community in visualising their long-term sustainable development goals, and then worked with federal and local governments to change their attitude towards the approval process – and thus be in sync with the community’s vision.

It takes time to recover from any calamity – financial, political or environmental. Even though a university is mostly self-suffi­cient, much of its staff, students and support systems are provided by the local community.

The manner in which academia builds on shared lives and communities holds the key to social harmony. Many students lost the opportunity to work in person during the COVID-19 pandemic and universities worked hard to find alternative arrangements.

One medical college provided all the support needed to its students who were volunteering at local clinics during the high-risk period of the pandemic by mobilising donations, safety equipment, data collection and testing processes.

In addition to its scholastic work, universities need to bring its leadership and service capabilities to the forefront of communities. It is necessary to build long-lasting relationships with the community, staff, students, government, local authorities and sponsors for resources to drive support in times of need.

A community college converted its auditorium into a 100 bed isolation facility in partnership with multiple religious bodies, NGOs, the local hospital and volunteer doctors. This initiative helped support the poor who may not have had any possibility to stay isolated in their homes. The patients were also provided free food and healthcare support.

Unprecedented unemployment rates and increasing poverty demand that universities use their knowledge capital to upskill and reskill local residents for different livelihoods.

Identifying SMEs in business sectors that were most affected by the pandemic – and providing assistance in the form of social media marketing, lead generation, operations research and similar means – can be compensated with jobs for members of the community.

Look beyond the traditional school-college route for those who lost jobs and those who can’t afford college. Technology can make a difference today with free training and even a higher college degree.

Local industry bodies, establishments, community colleges and others should be able to drive the reskilling and upskilling needs of the local workforce. Rising above the provision of traditional degrees, universities should be sensitive to community needs and be flexible. After all,education for the sake of a degree is outdated.

Academia must step outside its comfort zone of providing only education and find creative solutions for the social issues faced by local communities. People can easily be trained for the services sector – such as working in hotels, retail, food, delivery services and so on.

Partnering with local establishments in co-creating knowledge will benefit all stakeholders in the generation of employment and even a new curriculum.

Research based innovation is necessary for the new era to address the economic, social and environmental issues facing society. Furthermore, an educational curriculum revamp will enable better understanding of things that have never been experienced before.

Closer partnerships between knowledge institutions and society will require integrating real life situations into course design. There should be no shame in copying and adapting best practices from elsewhere for transformational change.

Combining the efforts of universities and the community will produce more value than what can be achieved through traditional means.

Education for the sake of a degree is outdated