Asociacion de Aprendizaje-Servicio Universitario – ApS(U) is an association established in 2017 with the aim of strengthening collaboration among people interested in Service-Learning, exchange experiences of service-learning, disseminating processes and impacts of educational and social projects based on this methodology, promoting research, and supporting the institutionalization of service-learning in Spanish universities. Currently, it has more than 140 members among teaching, research, and administrative staff from different Spanish universities.
The main areas of activity are:
- Holding of congresses, conferences, seminars, and other scientific meetings
- Preparation of reports and studies about the educational system, educational policies, and teaching methodologies related to service-learning.
- Development of programs, services, and training materials in service-learning especially aimed at the field of Higher Education.
- Creation, direction, and participation in publications of any format and support that deal with service-learning and educational or social matters related to this methodology.
- Participation in networks and creation of alliances with other entities, whether public or private, Spanish or foreign, that promote service-learning.
- Development or participation in activities to promote service-learning before
political and academic authorities, the media, and social agents.
Aps (U) is the main communication partner in relation to the educational administration in Spain and also maintains links with other entities aimed at promoting service-learning and community engagement in higher education. The contact with the partners and the educational administrations is close, which allows the association to regularly organize online webinars as well as dissemination/communication activities of the SL adapted to the real needs of participants. Also noteworthy is the work being done to map service-learning experiences across Europe through the European Observatory of Service-Learning in higher education (https://www.eoslhe.eu), which is currently being developed with the support of the ApS (U). The European Observatory of Service-Learning in Higher Education (EOSLHE) is a permanent space for cooperation and exchange among the members of the European network Europe Engage for mapping the use of, collecting data and evidences, and promoting the use of this learning methodology as well as its institutionalizing processes. It was established in 2019, as an output of a previous project, the European Union-funded “Europe Engage”, an Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership in Higher Education project that ended in August of 2017.
