Over the last few years, we’ve had the incredible opportunity to explore how volunteering can significantly enrich the student experience while fostering deep community engagement. We’re excited to share Communiteer’s case study featured in the 8th issue of the Transform Journal from Engagement Australia.
Volunteering & Community Engagement
Volunteering serves as a potent mechanism through which universities actively participate in and contribute to the fabric of their surrounding communities.
These activities afford students tangible opportunities to apply theory in practical settings, develop skills, and universities to harness the transformative potential of volunteering to forge enduring connections, propel positive societal transformations, and nurture a cohort of socially conscious and globally engaged citizens.
Shaping the Student Experience
“Leveraging Volunteering for a Holistic Student Experience” delves into the research, development and co-design process our team underwent to create volunteering programs that meet the needs of the student journey and the community.
Through our work with universities and community partners, we identified three critical phases of the student journey: Arrive, Thrive, and Succeed. Each phase represents distinct needs, from welcoming students to a new environment to preparing them for their future careers. Volunteering serves as the bridge, offering students real-world experience, skill development, and a sense of belonging—all while contributing positively to the broader community.
Our collaboration with organisations such as Study NSW and universities like UNSW and UTS has allowed us to build tailored volunteering programs that address both student development and community needs. From welcoming international students at Sydney Airport to empowering them to design community fundraising campaigns, we’ve seen the incredible outcomes that arise when volunteering is purposefully integrated into education.
Transformative Experiences
Mihajla Gavin, Senior Lecturer, UTS Business School
“Described by our industry partners as producing “outstanding quality and ideas” and by students as “one of the best assessments I have completed in my business course”, here’s to more collaborative programs that generate social impact from UTS Business School for 2024!”
Bijal Patel, Associate Agility Coach, Commonwealth Bank Australia
“Loved facilitating my 2nd Hackathon. The groups came up with some creative ideas. Heart Foundation’s Moana Wood and Amanda Beardmore will be using this idea in their upcoming campaign. Yay!”
Prishanti Mishra, Student Volunteer
“With most international students, we want to be comfortable with our communication and networking skills. Volunteering really gave us an opportunity to talk to so many different people and get comfortable with speaking in another language.”
Apoorv Maroo, Student Volunteer
“This was by far the best program because it did not burden me with a lot of work, and yet I learned so much through this well-designed structure. It was almost THERAPEUTIC.”
The Future of Volunteering
Through volunteering, students can cultivate a deep sense of civic responsibility, empathy, and social consciousness. The social, economic, and wellbeing benefits of student volunteering create a virtuous cycle of positive outcomes for governments, universities, and communities.
By recognising and supporting student volunteering initiatives, stakeholders can collectively leverage the transformative power of volunteering to build stronger, more resilient societies and empower the next generation of leaders and change-makers.
Read the Full Article Here
Acknowledgements
We’d like to thank our collaborators whose activities inform this case study, including Study NSW, UNSW Business School, and UTS Business for believing in the power of volunteering to support community engagement practices.
And of course, the hundreds of incredible student volunteers who shared with us their stories and feedback, turned up to support community organisations and shared their experiences to encourage their friends to get involved!
A special acknowledgement to our team for their delivery of these activities and the development of collaborator relationships – Victor Lee, Willem Booker, Shevaun Lim, Alex Connor, Olivia McGarry and Madison Bryant.
