USJ Hosts Service-Learning Academic Staff Training, Ahead of 2026/27 Projects
USJ Hosts Service-Learning Academic Staff Training, Ahead of 2026/27 Projects
22
Jun
22/06/2026
UJS held a Service-Learning Academic Staff Training session, bringing together faculty, deans, and visiting experts to deepen the university’s understanding of Service-Learning.
On Thursday, 18 June 2026, the University of Saint Joseph held a Service-Learning Academic Staff Training session, bringing together faculty, deans, and visiting experts to deepen the university’s understanding of Service-Learning and to chart a progressive path forward for new projects in the coming academic year.
The session opened with a welcoming address from the Acting Rector, Dr. Alejandro Salcedo, who set a constructive tone for the morning by underlining the central importance of Service-Learning to USJ’s educational mission.
Two guest speakers from De La Salle University, representing the Uniservitate Asia & Oceania Regional Hub, then offered an excellent grounding in the fundamentals of the field. Ms Marietta Guanzon, Service-Learning Programme Coordinator, introduced the core principles of Service-Learning and highlighted its unique characteristics compared to conventional community engagement. Meanwhile, Ms Romina Eloisa Abuan, Uniservitate Programme Coordinator, presented an inspiring overview of the Uniservitate network and the role of the Asia & Oceania Hub in supporting Catholic higher education institutions across the region.
Prof. Vitor Teixeira, USJ’s Service-Learning Coordination Entity, followed with a presentation tracing the university’s journey ‘From Community Engagement to Service-Learning’, successfully situating USJ’s recent institutional progress within its rich history of community service.
The morning’s centrepiece was a session dedicated to USJ’s own positive Service-Learning experiences. This featured first-hand accounts from Man Nok ‘Aegon’ Chang and Christine Joy ‘CJ’ Peralta, who shared their rewarding experiences of becoming Student Ambassadors for Service-Learning at USJ Macao. Prof. Karen Tagulao also presented the various successful projects underway in the wetlands, demonstrating how enthusiastically students from different programmes are getting involved.
The session concluded with an encouraging invitation from Prof. Vitor Teixeira, welcoming colleagues to propose new Service-Learning projects for the 2026/27 academic year. Deans and faculty members engaged in dedicated discussions to identify which proposed projects their faculties could readily adopt and support – marking a concrete, positive first step towards expanding Service-Learning across more of USJ’s academic programmes.
