This project focuses on the development of sustainable partnerships between the local community and our educational institution for the courses Social Work and Orthopedagogy. In line with several spearheads of the university, the project aims to connect the local community to both courses through a model of community-based learning (CBL). CBL integrates educational goals with activities of the local community (Bringle & Hatcher, 1999). Both Orthopedagogy and Social Work benefit from and need to strengthen partnerships with organisations in the new environment of Campus Spoor Noord - Noorderplaats ('t Eilandje, Den Dam, Seefhoek). The proximity and diversity of professional organisations in the neighbourhood offer new opportunities for the students, the campus and the neighbourhood. The courses already work together with organisations in the neighbourhood, but this is mainly limited to internships and ad hoc contacts. The main goal of the project is to strengthen the connection and cooperation with the professional field in the neighbourhood by setting up sustainable partnerships between the courses and the neighbourhood. In addition, the project contributes to the visibility and awareness of AP's welfare training courses in the local community.
The project goes through several phases. A first step is the mapping of relevant welfare organisations and neighbourhood associations in the vicinity of Campus Spoor Noord - Noorderplaats. They will be questioned about their familiarity with the new campus and about their vision on cooperation (and possibilities) in which they will be more involved on Campus Spoor Noord - Noorderplaats and in which students will get more learning opportunities in the neighbourhood. In addition, the wishes and conditions for CBL according to lectors (within olods and the broader curriculum) and students are mapped out.
In a second phase, one or more applications of CBL will be developed and tested on a small scale (e.g. within one olod). This step ends in an evaluation of the pilot project. The final project year refines the CBL application(s), creates a CBL model for other AP bachelor's programmes and strengthens the embedding in the curriculum and the neighbourhood.