Recognise volunteering as learning and connect your students to the world
International Voluntary Service produces documented, assessable competences that align with, and complement higher education learning outcomes through concrete experiential learning. Two main partnership routes are available: send students to international voluntary service projects to provide them with opportunities to test and develop their knowledge and skills in real-life situations; and/or valorise students’ and volunteers’ learning by formally recognising the C-IVS certification, providing academic credit for current and prospective students.
Two ways to partner
| Send students to workcamps Short-term international workcamps (2–4 weeks) and medium or long-term placements offer structured intercultural learning that maps directly onto the C-IVS competence framework. Students return with a documented competence profile you can integrate into field learning credits, service learning programmes, or co-curricular transcripts. More than 2,500 IVS projects take place every year across 71 countries. | Recognise the certification [actively seeking partners] Formally endorse the C-IVS framework so that your students who have completed an IVS project can receive academic credit, ECTS, or validated fieldwork recognition. The framework is aligned with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), ESCO, and the African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF). We are currently seeking partner universities in Europe and Africa to join the validation steering team. |
The competence framework, what students are assessed on
The tables below show the seven clusters with their corresponding competences and skills. All 29 competences are assessed through representative behavioural descriptors at three levels: Intermediate, Good, and Advanced.
| Cluster 1: Autonomy Autonomy · Resilience · Stress management · Adaptation & flexibility · Dealing with challenges |
| Cluster 2: Initiative Creativity & innovation · Problem solving · Responsibility |
| Cluster 3: Communication Active listening · Self-expression / assertiveness · Public speaking · Digital literacy · Networking |
| Cluster 4: Cooperation Teamwork · Coordination & conflict management · Organisation & time management · Civic engagement & activism |
| Cluster 5: Global understanding & citizenship Peace & human rights · Gender, diversity & inclusion · Environmental sustainability & climate justice · Decolonisation & bias awareness · Cultural heritage |
| Cluster 6: Intercultural awareness Intercultural awareness (individual) · Cultural openness (relational) · Empathy |
| Cluster 7: Cognitive competences Learning to learn · Critical thinking · Self-reflection · Confidence in oneself |
What university partnership involves
- Join the certification steering team: University representatives take part in the ongoing steering process alongside CCIVS, GloRe Network, ICYE and AJOV, reviewing competence descriptors, advising on assessment methodology, and ensuring alignment and complementarity with formal education standards.
- Validate the framework: Provide independent academic review and formal endorsement, giving the certification credibility for students seeking credit transfer or recognition in academic and professional contexts across Europe and Africa.
- Integrate IVS into field learning: Work with CCIVS to design pathways where students participating in IVS workcamps can receive academic credit, validated fieldwork, service learning hours, or ECTS, within your existing programmes.
- Expand recognition in your country: Engage your national qualification body and become a reference point for other universities seeking to integrate non-formal learning. The project’s goal is to reach 10 additional universities through advocacy by project close in 2028.
Interested in partnering? Contact the CCIVS secretariat to discuss what a partnership could look like for your institution: secretariat@ccivs.org
Co-funded by the European Union and the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), or the Council of Europe. Neither the European Union, EACEA, nor the Council of Europe can be held responsible for them.
