Higher education and social responsibility : a proposal for internationalization of university—community engagements; perspectives from Uganda

Title data

Amutuhaire, Tibelius:
Higher education and social responsibility : a proposal for internationalization of university—community engagements; perspectives from Uganda.
In: SN Social Sciences. Vol. 3 (2023) . - 161.
ISSN 2662-9283
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00751-2

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

One of the traditional missions for universities was community service, which was updated to entail community engagement. Community engagement is a component of the internationalization of higher education, which aspires to improve service delivery within society. Though universities in Uganda have always engaged with communities, they have always done so, disregarding the international dimension of higher education. Simultaneously, contemporary approaches to internationalization are primarily concerned with scholarly debate and discussion of societal challenges. However, merging internationalization with community engagement would better serve local and global communities. This is now more relevant considering global challenges such as COVID-19, terrorism, and climate change. Universities should now work more closely with communities to enrich scholarship, contribute to public good aims, and address the current critical social issues. Therefore, university–community engagement should go beyond institutional and disciplinary boundaries that restrict possibilities for fruitful engagement with local and global communities in today’s rapidly changing world. This paper explores the international dimension of community engagement in Uganda’s universities. Using a narrative literature review, the paper highlights how to merge internationalization with community engagement without reproducing inequalities but emphasizing fairness and social justice. The paper holds that community engagement should be integrated into the broader internationalization agenda of universities for better service delivery.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Keywords:	Higher education; University; Community engagement; Internationalization; Social responsibility
Institutions of the University:	Graduate Schools > BIGSAS Graduate Schools > BayKULT > Culture and Society Graduate Schools Graduate Schools > BayKULT
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	300 Social sciences > 370 Education
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2023 21:12
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2023 07:41
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/87017