What is the Value of Experiential Education, Really?

The Office of Regional and International Community Engagement (ORICE), formerly the International Service Learning (ISL) programme, has fostered collaborations between local and international community organizations, and UBC students over the past 18 years. Long-term relationships with these communities for economic, political and social research continue to be forged and maintained. ORICE remains committed to expanding the accessibility of these experiential learning opportunities for its students and has developed a fund to support students to have the opportunity to engage with these programmes throughout their degrees. If you haven’t had the chance to participate in experiential education yourself, you might wonder, what’s the big deal? What is the value of experiential education, actually? 

Leading up to this year’s UBC Giving Day, we interviewed some alumni who participated in ORICE programs as far back as 2009, to highlight the long-lasting impacts of their experiences. The alumni were involved in ORICE programs with community organizations in India, Kenya, and Eswatini. Their work took on varied projects ranging from conducting economic research for Non-Profit Organizations (NPO) to creating a VR-based Course at UBC. In this piece, we explore how their placements varied, yet, how they all shared the transformational impact that community-based research and experiential learning through ORICE had on their degrees and careers. 

George Radner, a 2018 ORICE alumnus, stated that if it had not been for his placement with ORICE, he would not have started working in an NPO right after graduation. His placement in Kenya was with Kakenya’s Dream, a Kenyan community-based organization dedicated to improving girls’ access to education, healthcare, and community mentorship. Working on economic planning for the organization oriented Radner towards taking a “grassroots, hands-on-the-ground (approach)” in his career. It introduced him to work that honored community needs, and recognized the “messy” or non-linear nature of such work. He appreciated the chance to spend time with the organization directly, collaborating on the programmes they led, and being hosted by a Kenyan family during the placement. Living and learning alongside the community, he created long-term relationships that continue today. He learned Swahili during the placement, allowing him to witness more meaningfully how community organizations worked in this specific context. This experience later inspired a career in politics and community, leading to his current position as the Executive Director for the NPO Climate Action Pathfinders. Working with Kakenya’s Dream inspired him in a way that continues to shape his career and life significantly.

Working in a non-profit is not the only route some of the ORICE alumni took. In Vladimir Chindea’s case, a future in filmmaking was also formalized through his experience with ORICE in 2019. Chindea worked with the Selco Foundation, an NPO committed to empowering environmental sustainability in India. During his placement, Chindea nurtured his interests in filmmaking by spotlighting Selco’s work through Virtual Reality recordings for a UBC course co-designed with the NPO on Wicked Problems. The recordings were created in collaboration with communities that the organization worked with; ensuring ethical relationship-building and taking on a critical lens to filmmaking practices in their context. Later, Chindea helped in administrative work and curriculum design related to that course, and continued to be involved with ORICE throughout his degree, even when the pandemic struck. The community at ORICE became a ‘home-away-from-home’ for him, leading to long-lasting relations that live on today.

Chindea’s experience with ORICE’s community-based learning approach also continues to empower him to navigate his own filmmaking career with a unique point of view: he prioritizes relationship-building and collaboration with the communities he works with. Even the themes of interest for his projects continue to be inspired by his experiences with ORICE, through a focus on collaboration with grassroots community organizations such as his recent work on a short documentary with the newcomers’ community in Montreal. Chindea’s placement with ORICE not only transformed his degree at UBC, but also continues to inspire him in diverse ways today!

Though her experience took place a decade before Chindea’s, Delaram Farshad also reflected on how her current career trajectory continues to be impacted by the placement she engaged in and the subsequent work she did with ORICE. Farshad reported that the experience allowed her to solidify her interests in public health and international development. Before joining the then ISL programme, Farshad knew she was interested in international development. The programme simply “confirmed” her path in public health with communities that might be more vulnerable or isolated, while giving her a critical perspective that informed her work with such communities more meaningfully as she continued on with her career. 

Before working with Swaziland Network of People Living with HIV (SWANNEPHA) in (now) Eswatini, Farshad participated in the mandatory pre-departure sessions with ORICE. These have stood out for Farshad over the years as they invited her to critically reflect on the work she was engaging in. They prepared her for the placement by pushing her to recognize that she was not “just volunteering (but providing) a service (to the organization).” She reflected that the sessions took her out of her individual context and connected her “to something beyond, (something) bigger than (herself).” That critical knowledge continues to inform her subsequent work in the field of public health with vulnerable communities across Canada. 

All of the alumni we interviewed reported the lasting impact that ORICE programs had on their degrees, and unique career trajectories. Some knew their career goals before joining ORICE and were able to hone them during their experience, while others were inspired to switch directions after engaging in experiential learning through ORICE. All of them felt that ORICE provided them the support and critical learning necessary to engage in the career that they ended up in, be it filmmaking, international development, public health or non-profit work. ORICE’s approach to community-based learning and the challenges that come with it allowed students to supplement their university education with experiences that they did not always find in the classroom. This vital experiential education continues to shape students today, and provide them with the necessary tools for ethical success outside of university!

 

These interviews highlight the significance of community-engaged research programs to both students and organizations. However, such collaborations remain difficult due to direct and/or indirect costs on students who engage in these placements. Our goal at ORICE is to expand the accessibility of these programmes, especially in a time of threats to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). On April 8th, 2026, you can help us in doing so by donating to the ORICE Student Learning Fund. This Fund is dedicated to students from historically, persistently, or systematically marginalized groups. Even the smallest contribution makes an impact – together building a stronger community that supports future students to learn and collaborate with communities on positive social change in the years to come!