The National University of Ireland, Galway launched a major project in 2001, entitled the Community Knowledge Initiative (CKI), which set out to underpin and realise a civic mission as part of its core activities. The CKI seeks to establish NUI Galway as a pioneering institution in the implementation of service learning programmes across all faculties.

Service Learning

Service Learning seeks to reinvigorate the civic mission of higher education and instil in students a sense of social responsibility and civic awareness. It is a pedagogical tool that encourages students to learn and explore issues vital to society inside and outside the classroom. Students learn from engaging with communities by active participation.

Service learning is similar in some ways to volunteering, but its purpose is unique. Like volunteering, it requires a commitment of time and energy for the benefit of local communities and individuals. What makes service learning unique is that it is a particular type of experiential learning where students apply academic knowledge and skills they have gained to address genuine community needs while students attain academic credit for their learning. During this experience, students learn through active and organised service by applying concepts presented in their general academic curriculum and reflect on the experience throughout the process to enhance learning. Both students and the community benefit from the experience.

Students are made aware of local community needs and from this awareness chose a site to which they can contribute in a meaningful manner though an engineering lens.

The key objectives of the Service Learning are to enhance students engineering and technical skills through the project work and to increase their awareness of inclusiveness when designing electronic and computer systems. The initiatives attempt to foster a close interaction between the student and the partner organisations by ensuring there is co-operation throughout the project life cycle from the initial technology and needs review stage to the final delivery of a prototype system and its use and evaluation by clients of the organisations. At all stages in the project, the student meets with the partner organisation and their clients to present their design ideas and to receive feedback from the future users of their proposed systems in order to enhance their designs.

All under-graduate students in Electronic Engineering at NUI Galway, along with students from other Engineering disciplines, undertake projects in the third year (group projects) and final year (individual projects) of their degree programme. This initiative optionally allows a student to complete a service learning based project in either third or fourth year in partnership with external organisations representing individuals with disabilities. These project modules run for the complete duration of the first and second semester and the expectation is that students will design and build a prototype system for use and evaluation by clients of the partner organisations at the end of the project.

How are NCBI involved?

For the past number of years NCBI have engaged with the College of Engineering & Informatics at NUI, Galway in facilitating students involved in Service Learning as part of their degree programs. The students are presented with various projects and work with NCBI staff and service users to develop solutions that may assist people with a vision impairment.

This year NCBI is providing support to 3 projects involving third year students from Electronic Engineering, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Sports and Exercise Engineering, and Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering.

The first project involves the development of a barcode reader, which will use a person’s mobile phone to enable them to receive spoken information about a products nutritional value along with information about the product’s ingredients.

The second project involves the development of a portable device, possibly integrated into a mobile phone for use with indoor rowing machines that will provide audio feedback relating to distance travelled, time left, stroke rate etc.

The third project involves the development of a piece of wearable technology that can be worn by a athlete who is blind or has a vision impairment that would give them a tactile and/or audible warning if they start to deviate from their course, or if they are off balance.
These projects have just started and there will be updates on how they are progressing in the next NCBI News.
NCBI would like to thank NUI, Galway for their continued confidence and enthusiasm in choosing NCBI as one of their partners for these worthwhile projects as part of their Community Knowledge Initiative.
Thanks to NUI, Galway Community Knowledge Initiative for use of information from their website www.nuigalwaycki.ie

Francis Kane, I.T. Trainer & Support Worker, NCBI West