With the aim of “developing students into responsible global citizens”, the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University (PolyU) introduced the mandatory Service-Learning (SL) Requirement in the 2012/13
academic year as part of the new undergraduate degree curriculum. In 2015/16, the number of SL
subjects offered increased significantly to 61, with over 200 teaching staff involved and 4,000 students
enrolled. Many teachers and practitioners face challenges which have previously been encountered
and addressed by other colleagues.

In 2015, PolyU joined hands with eleven renowned universities around the globe, such as Washington
University in St. Louis, Yonsei University, Haifa University, Sichuan University, Peking University, etc, to
form a University Social Responsibility (USR) Network. One of the focal areas for collaboration in the
initial stage is service-learning, and other schools have been much interested in sending their students
and teachers to learn from our efforts. It is imperative that our own teachers are provided with a
platform to share experiences, knowledge, skills, good practices, and new ideas, and learn from each
other at the same time.