Community Service & Scholarship: Prospects & Challenges for Lebanese Engineering Institutions

This paper is concerned with the utilisation of community based service learning programmes as means for advancing scholarship in all its forms. It examines how, in the absence of other alternative modalities, such student centred programmes may be exploited to stimulate academic research and development activities particularly where funding opportunities are scarce. Supportive examples are drawn from the experience of the University of Balamand in Lebanon. Two case studies are presented and are used to highlight the methodologies used to direct student learning efforts within these programmes not only to fulfil the requirements of the community partner, but also to realise original academic output. Also in this paper, is an analysis of the challenges and difficulties that have to be considered when using such programmes.