ABSTRACT
The chapter presents an analysis of the emergence and development of service learning at the University of Bologna, Italy (UNIBO). Service learning within higher education in Italy is a recent phenomenon, and what is particularly striking is how vibrant these experiences have become in a few years since 2015. Service learning is often confused with other professional experiences including internships, stage and work experience and curricular apprenticeships. To compare the service learning lab to the traditional lab in terms of satisfaction, a survey was conducted involving the 30 service learning lab students versus 60 traditional lab students. Course on service learning has been proposed to feature within the course offerings on the Transversal Competences Programme promoted by the university and offered to all UNIBO students as optional courses. Service learning brings together students, academics and the community whereby all become teaching resources, problem solvers and partners.
