Nurturing Growth: Learning through service in SLICE

By Dr Noraisikin Sabani and Valerie Velina Anaelechi

At Curtin Malaysia, growth takes many forms. It happens quietly in classrooms, through discussions and discoveries – but sometimes, it happens out there, in villages, schools, and communities, where students and mentors learn the most unexpected lessons.

Service-learning not only connects academic knowledge with practice but also helps students build global competence – the ability to adapt, collaborate, and engage meaningfully across cultures. Through its Service-Learning Integrated Community Engagement (SLICE) programme, Curtin Malaysia students learn to communicate across language barriers, appreciate diversity, and apply empathy in addressing real community needs.

This is the heart of SLICE – a platform that merges academic learning with purposeful community service. Each semester, SLICE brings together students and mentors from diverse disciplines, creating a network of shared learning that extends beyond the campus walls.

A Shared Journey of Learning and Leadership

An initiative commencing in 2025, SLICE brought together around 22 mentors, each guiding students through projects that reflected both passion and purpose. The programme’s design is layered, allowing senior and early-career academics to develop mentoring and leadership skills while supporting students in translating classroom learning into real-world contributions.

This layered mentoring also models intercultural collaboration, as students and mentors work together with communities whose needs and contexts may differ from their own, fostering adaptability and empathy as part of their learning journey.

For many mentors, SLICE was more than coordination. It was a chance to lead through empathy. Each project carried its own rhythm and challenge, from student-led initiatives to structured mentor-guided collaborations. Together, they formed a living laboratory of community-based learning.

Projects Rooted in Purpose

Under the guidance of mentors, the student-initiated projects mirrored their fields of study and personal convictions. For instance, a group of students chose to focus on neurodiversity awareness, running campaigns that encouraged understanding and inclusion of individuals with autism. Others led donation drives and community outreach, mobilising peers to support local needs with compassion and creativity.

In many cases, students worked with community members who were not fluent in English and had to adjust their communication, often switching to basic Malay or non-verbal methods, which was an invaluable lesson in cultural sensitivity and flexibility.

Another group of students from various study majors channelled their curiosity into STEAM-themed activities for schoolchildren, where they designed simple experiments to ignite curiosity and critical thinking. These projects reminded everyone involved that even small actions, when done with purpose, can ripple outward in meaningful ways. As one student reflected, “I learned that small actions can make a big difference.”

Curtin Malaysia undergraduates conducting ICT awareness workshop, empowering community members with essential digital skills

On a larger scale, mentor-led initiatives, such as the Pogang Legacy project, brought together students, educators, and the Bidayuh community in a collaboration that celebrated local heritage. By learning to make pogang, a traditional delicacy made from glutinous rice and coconut, students not only preserved an Indigenous practice but also supported the community’s efforts to turn cultural knowledge into an entrepreneurial opportunity. For mentors, it was a case study in integrating Indigenous knowledge into academic learning; for students, it was an experience of learning by doing, with heart and humility.

Students learning to make the traditional Bidayuh delicacy, Pogang, later helping the community promote it through digital platforms.

Adapting, Reflecting, Growing

Not every project went exactly to plan, and that, perhaps, was the most valuable lesson. Some communities changed schedules at the last minute; others faced logistical challenges or shifting priorities. Through these, the students learned to adapt, to listen, and to respond to what the community truly needed – lessons that no textbook could provide.

One student wrote, “The challenges taught me adaptability and better teamwork,” while another shared, “I realised that my role isn’t limited to assigned tasks.” Projects like these nurtured resilience and problem-solving, which are crucial aspects of global competence, as students learned to manage uncertainty and make real-time decisions based on the community’s evolving needs.

For many of the participants, particularly those in their final year, SLICE became a capstone experience. It was an opportunity to apply disciplinary knowledge in real contexts, while developing essential soft skills: empathy, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking. “Leadership can come in many forms,” another student reflected, after stepping up when her team needed support.

As one mentor reflected, “SLICE reminds us that education is not only about what we teach, but how we connect.”

A heartwarming intergenerational learning moment – elders sharing sewing and repurposing techniques with the younger generation.

Empowering Academics, Enriching Communities

SLICE’s layered mentoring structure also nurtured growth among Curtin Malaysia’s academic staff. Early-career academics honed mentoring and project management skills, while more experienced mentors strengthened their community engagement and leadership practices.

Dr. Noraisikin said that, as the programme coordinator, she has seen students respond to challenges with creativity and courage, stepping into leadership roles when situations demanded it. Early-career mentors, too, reflected on their own development and the two-way nature of mentoring.

One early career mentor shared her experience supporting students during a mathematics workshop at PAKK Taman Tunku. When the participants who arrived were not from the expected age group, the students had to quickly redesign their approach. She reflected: “Seeing my students adapt and change their teaching methods on the spot reminded me that growth often happens when we step out of our comfort zone. Mentoring shows us that teaching and learning happen in both directions. As much as we guide our students, they also inspire and teach us in return.”

Maths Mentors in action – Curtin undergraduates simplifying mathematics through games and activities with PAKK Taman Tunku youth participants.

Another early-career academic reflected on mentoring students delivering Excel workshops to secondary schools: “It was rewarding to watch the students’ confidence and teaching skills grow. Guiding them also strengthened my own mentoring and leadership abilities while contributing to meaningful community engagement.”

This structure fostered a collaborative environment where learning flowed both ways – between students and mentors, between university and community. Through SLICE, Curtin Malaysia has shown its capacity to link education with social responsibility, cultivating empathy and leadership in students while empowering academics to practice community-based leadership in meaningful, contextual ways.

Curtin students guiding local youths in sewing and creative upcycling, fostering collaboration through shared learning.

Students preparing sensory bean activities designed for autistic youths, highlighting empathy and inclusion in learning.

Looking Ahead

As the SLICE journey continues, each project adds a new layer to the story of service, learning, and shared growth. What began as an academic initiative has evolved into something larger, a living reflection of Curtin Malaysia’s values: leadership, community, and global citizenship.

Moving forward, the programme aims to expand mentor involvement, strengthen intercultural learning components, and continue embedding global competence as a core outcome of the SLICE experience. Students and mentors alike will keep growing as they learn to serve with empathy and lead with purpose.

The programme stands as a reminder that when universities open their doors to the world beyond campus, they do more than serve communities; they nurture growth in everyone involved.

About the authors

Dr. Noraisikin Sabani (Lead Author) is a Senior Lecturer in the General Studies (MPU) Department and Faculty Quality Assurance Chairperson of the Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences at Curtin University Malaysia, while Valerie Velina Anaelechi, who headed the Pogang Legacy Project, is Head of the General Studies Department, as well as the Faculty’s Chair for External Engagement.

Acknowledgement

In addition to the dedicated student volunteers involved, the 22 SLICE mentors, listed in alphabetical order below, contributed significantly to the success of the programme:

Ir. Ts. Abdul Hamid Bin Abdullah, Dr. Anita Jimmie, Donna Peterus, Esther Puyang Lihan, Farahezza Hairon Nizar, Dr. Fayrene Chieng Yew Leh, Fifi Liew Ee En, Gigi Hii Shu Qi, Hanley Fong, Dr. Jenney Ngu Lim Song, Dr. Joseph Sia Kee Ming, Miguel Guimaraes Barros De Sa, Dr. Mitshel Lino, Dr. Muhammad Usman, Nancy Ujan, Sr. Nur Yusrina Binti Muhammad Hasmi, Peter Jamba, Pou Wai Yee, Dr. Praveena A/P Munianday, Puteri Nurul Fatihah Binti Mohamad Azli, Dr. Sivaraman Eswaran, and Valerie Velina Anaelechi.