Service-Learning is an extension of our Problem-based Learning approach towards teaching, and combines hands-on learning with community service.

Through our service-learning projects, SOH students use and practise the knowledge and skills they learn at school, such as event management and F&B operations, to address genuine community needs.

In addition to enriching our own students’ learning experience, our service-learning projects also cater to the needs of the poor, the elderly, the handicapped, and even the environment.

The School of Hospitality (SOH) organises several LSLPs each year. Every year, students plan and coordinate programmes which include events and activities:

• Live performances
• Carnival Games and Activities
• Art and Craftworks Activities

Other LSLP beneficiaries and partners include Blue Cross Thong Kheng Activity Day Centre, Blossom Seeds, Care Corner and Lions Befrienders.

International Service-Learning Projects (ISLPs) were first introduced by RP as a response to the catastrophic events that unfolded as a result of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004. In 2005, fifty RP students and four staff members embarked on what would be the polytechnic’s first-ever ISLP to Sri Lanka.

Since then, we have been organising annual ISLPs in countries like Cambodia and Vietnam, where students get the chance to connect their classroom knowledge to real life and contribute meaningfully to the local communities. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, ISLPs continued to engage virtually through meaningful activities such as:

• Teaching English to the orphans
• Conducting activities for the disadvantaged

Students will also have the opportunity to interact with and discover different cultures, thereby enhancing their worldviews through these ISLPs.