Genejane Adarlo

Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, 23(7), 171-175 (2025); https://doi.org/10.54808/JSCI.23.07.171

Health Sciences Program, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines

Cite this paper as:
Adarlo, G. (2025). The Civic Mission of Universities: Transdisciplinary Communication in Practice. Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, 23(7), 171-175. https://doi.org/10.54808/JSCI.23.07.171

The civic mission of universities has gained renewed prominence as higher education institutions confront the imperative of contributing to society. Beyond their traditional functions of teaching and research, universities are increasingly recognized as anchor institutions that generate public value by fostering engaged citizenship and addressing complex societal challenges. This article examines the civic mission of universities through two interrelated pathways: service-learning and transdisciplinary communication. Service-learning, defined as the integration of community engagement with academic instruction and critical reflection, strengthens students’ disciplinary learning while cultivating civicmindedness. In parallel, transdisciplinary communication provides the epistemic and practical framework to address wicked problems in society by integrating diverse academic perspectives with community knowledge in the co-production of solutions. Taken together, these approaches underscore how universities can fulfill their civic mission in ways that are educationally transformative and socially responsive.