KU Leuven: Service-learning trajectory ‘Imprisonment as a lived reality’ in the spotlight
The course ‘Prison punishment as a lived reality’ brings together 24 students (half of whom are detainees) to think about the (un)usefulness of punishment. On November 7, 2022, rector Luc Sels visited Leuven Central to attend a lesson. The visit underlines the increasing importance of engagement and social involvement in education, which KU Leuven has been strongly committed to for several years.
At KU Leuven, an important step was taken at the opening of the 2020-2021 academic year with the launch of KU Leuven Engage, a community of students, employees and partners who want to take on their social responsibility through active commitment. “With KU Leuven Engage , we have been committed for several years for, together with and from individuals and groups in vulnerable situations,” says Rector Sels.
Service-learning courses that focus on serving, reflecting and learning help students develop as complete individuals with not only academic but also social and personal skills. “With service-learning courses – of which we now offer 35 – we want to appeal to our students for their social engagement and to contribute from KU Leuven to social innovation and impact in society at large. After all, as a university, it is our most important task to put our knowledge at the service of people and society, with an eye for pressing social needs and for the importance of solidarity.”
In order to keep in touch with the development of KU Leuven Engage, the rector took part in the elective ‘Prison sentence as a lived reality’. What do we expect from a (prison) sentence? Does the current system achieve those goals? What does a society expect from a criminal justice system? Twelve detainees and twelve regular students think about it together for a semester during lessons they take together in Leuven Central. The course is offered to detainees and KU Leuven students of mainly theology, philosophy, law and criminology. The course won the Uniservitate prizefor service learning in higher education. A worldwide award that is awarded annually and rewards initiatives that focus on forms of education in which social engagement and reflection are central.
“The strength of this profession is in the debate. During each lesson, students and student-prisoners discuss a particular aspect of criminal law that can be approached from an ethical, psychological and criminological point of view,” says teacher Pieter De Witte. “All participants are treated equally and receive the same assignments and evaluation. We have learned from previous years that this experience enriches everyone, both on the basis of knowledge and on a personal level,” adds teacher Geertjan Zuijdwegt.