The Open Learning Champions programme aims to equip a wide network of people from third-sector organisations with the knowledge and skills to use the OU’s free learning resources so that they, in turn, can support learners in their communities to use these resources. One of the intentions is to support those learners in making the transition from informal to formal learning.

Open Learning Champions are key to reaching these wider communities because they provide a trusted voice as people who already have a relationship with those whom the OU is trying to encourage. Importantly, the Champions also understand the context of those communities and some of the challenges and barriers they face so these can then be mitigated from the outset.

Top tip: If you are looking to establish and develop a community partnership, listen well and put in effort to understand the community with which you are trying to work.

Vertically Integrated Projects (VIPs) are credit-bearing research modules for undergraduates with a focus on teamwork and gaining active research skills and learning. The initiative started in 2020 and there are currently 12 active modules working with five local institutions. Through these, the students can deepen their understanding of communities in St Andrews, Fife and Scotland more broadly. Teams comprise students from different levels of study and different subject disciplines.

Communities work in many different ways within the VIP initiative. First, there is the community of students engaging in the VIP programme; then there is an annual VIP conference which enables those students to showcase the original work they have been doing - and this is not just for the University community, but reaches beyond that to the broader local community.

As an example, one project has been focused on the Botanical Gardens in St Andrews and how the Gardens can be promoted more to students and the local people of St Andrews as a community space. Another initiative researched advocacy, working with the traveller community in Fife. And a further project has resulted in a photography exhibition in the Byre Theatre, a University-managed space for the town.

Key learning includes: Community building takes time and requires patience, and it is most effective when it happens in a fairly organic way. Also, start small - sometimes, that might mean beginning simply with a conversation, inviting someone in to speak to students, and gradually building a relationship. You do not need to begin with a big funding application - a guest lecture might be more effective.

There are other benefits to the University as well, for example by developing in the students some of the key skills required for entrepreneurship and enterprise. There are other regulatory challenges to resolve, for example where people on one project are registered for different amounts of credit and how that can be assessed. So, the reflections in this case study go beyond the immediate considerations of communities in learning and teaching to broader pedagogical considerations.