Our Mission and Development
The Service Learning Center (SLC) at the Asian University for Women (AUW) is established to integrate service, applied learning, and professional work into the student experience. Since early 2026, the Center has undertaken foundational research, institutional mapping, and program design to build a scalable framework for student engagement across the university and its surrounding contexts. Full implementation is scheduled to begin in June 2026.
Guided by its motto, “Serve & Learn,” the SLC is grounded in the belief that higher education becomes most meaningful when students engage directly with real institutional and societal needs and apply their learning in structured, supervised, and outcome-oriented settings and in the process expand their knowledge.
Our Approach to Experiential Learning
The SLC is designed as a coordinated system that aligns student engagement with institutional priorities, community needs, and skill development goals. It formalizes student participation into structured roles that emphasize accountability, learning outcomes, and meaningful contribution.
All activities are guided by three core principles
- Learning: Strengthening academic understanding through applied experience
- Service: Generating tangible value for AUW and society
- Work: Ensuring professionalism, responsibility, and quality in execution
Scope of Engagement
The SLC operates across three interconnected areas
Internal Engagement at AUW
Students contribute to the academic and operational ecosystem of AUW through teaching and research assistantships, peer tutoring, and structured support across administrative, academic and student service units, including Admissions, Student Affairs, Residential Life, Library, IT
Community Engagement
The Center supports community-based initiatives in surrounding areas, focusing on education, public health, environmental sustainability, and social awareness and upliftment. This includes outreach programs, literacy support, and locally grounded interventions in health, social and environmental well-being.
City and Beyond
The SLC develops partnerships with NGOs, government agencies, and civil society organizations to create structured internship pathways and implement projects in urban development, social innovation, and community resilience across Chattogram and beyond.
Pilot Initiatives
As part of its initial phase, the SLC is launching a series of pilot projects to test, refine, and scale its engagement model, including
- City clean-up and environmental restoration initiatives
- Intergenerational bonding program pairing AUW students with elderly residents in surrounding communities
- Guided meditation and mental well-being sessions
- Heritage walks to explore and document the cultural history of Chattogram
- Restoration and preservation efforts focused on local monuments and heritage sites
- Structured collaboration between AUW students and governmental and non-governmental organizations in Chattogram
- Formal structuring of existing student work programs at AUW
- Providing support to academic departments in planning and implementing socio cultural projects.
Looking Ahead
As it moves into full implementation, the Service Learning Center aims to establish a model of experiential education that is deeply embedded within the institution, responsive to community needs, and relevant to broader societal challenges. By connecting academic learning with structured service and professional engagement, the SLC seeks to strengthen student competencies, enhance institutional capacity, and contribute meaningfully to community and urban development.