INNOVATING UNIVERSITY TEACHING METHODS THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL AND COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING IN CONTEMPORARY VIETNAM

Abstract

The article analyzes recent innovations in university teaching in Vietnam toward experiential learning integrated with community service. Methodologically, the study combines a literature review with a comparative case analysis of four public universities (IUH, VLU, HUTECH, CTU), drawing on student surveys, empirical studies, and reports on service-learning courses. The findings identify four main models: credit-bearing community service-learning (CSL) modules, EPICS-style engineering design projects, short-term international service-learning programs, and summer camps or other seasonal projects. Among these, credit-bearing course modules designed under the EPICS framework or its equivalents demonstrate clear advantages in terms of learning outcomes, soft-skill development, social responsibility, and degree of institutionalization. The study further highlights barriers related to the regulatory framework, resource constraints, evaluation tools, and cross-sector coordination. This article contributes a classification framework, a set of evaluation criteria, and a package of governance–policy solutions to support the sustainable scaling of experiential, community-engaged learning models in Vietnamese higher education.