Society to Innovation: Lessons Learn from Audiology Universiti Sains Malaysia Service Learning Malaysia-University for Society (USM-SULAM)

Abstract

Service learning is a pedagogical approach that connects academic instruction with community engagement, providing reciprocal benefits to students and the populations they serve. This report is on a Universiti Sains Malaysia - SULAM (Service Learning Malaysia–University for Society) audiology project implemented in collaboration with industry and a special education secondary school for visually impaired students. The project combined in-person hearing screening, counselling, and hands-on hearing aid maintenance and modification training delivered by third-year audiology students under the supervision of experienced audiologists. Key outcomes included the identification of previously undetected hearing loss among secondary visually impaired or low vision students and improved audiology students to identify minor hearing aid breakdowns. Two principal lessons emerged: the immediate value of practical, hands-on hearing aid repair training for students, and the potential value of integrating teleaudiology as a future mechanism to sustain follow-up, support teachers and parents, and reduce device downtime. The project situates these outcomes within experiential learning theory and the evidence base for community and remote audiology services, discusses implementation challenges and mitigation strategies, and outlines recommendations for sustainability, curriculum integration, and staged teleaudiology adoption. The findings support a model of university–industry–community partnership that advances both education and hearing health access in resource-constrained settings.