All SSLA students participate in a community outreach project aimed at initiating student contributions towards social awareness and justice. It carries 4 credits, and is designed to be a full–time project, to be completed over the first summer break. The minimum total number of hours required for the successful completion of the COP is 100 hours and the student is graded on their work and the report in Semester 5.

The Community Outreach Cell (CO Cell) manages all initiatives targeted at community engagement at the local and national level to nurture students into sensitive, ethical and critically conscious citizens who will contribute responsibly to their communities and the wider society. The cell also introduces short- term initiatives addressing pertinent issues, ranging from environmental and mental health awareness to fundraisers and donation drives. Some of the initiatives of the CO cell are listed below.

Sahara - A Fundraiser: The CO Cell organized a weeklong fundraiser, ‘Sahara’ in collaboration with Humsafar Trust, the oldest and largest LGBTQ+ organization in India. A sum total of Rs. 58,677 was raised through the efforts of the students.

Plastic Free Week: A week-long awareness and initiative campaign against the use of single-use plastics, named Plastic Free Week was organized by the CO Cell. This consisted of various cultural activities, collaborations with local businesses that endorse eco-friendly lifestyles, and donation drives to Rudra - a local award-winning organisation that converts plastic waste to polyfuel.

Mahashramdaan in collaboration with Paani Foundation. The foundation was set up in 2016 with the mission of making Maharashtra drought-free. Nine students participated in the drive and worked towards creating simple watershed structures.

Student Initiatives Our students continue to be engaged in outreach activities even outside of the academic requirement.

Academic Service Learning – Faculty members successfully integrated Academic Service Learning in courses such as Marketing Management, Applied Anthropology and Only One Earth.

• As a part of a longitudinal ethnography project conducted by the Applied Anthropology course, students have been mapping the Yamuna Nagar Basti in Viman Nagar to assess the needs of this slum dwelling community. The community expressed the need for support in spoken English.
• The work of the students resulted in two outreach projects which was coordinated by the Community Outreach Cell. SSLA students, in collaboration with Teach for India, taught basic English skills to fifty students of the Yamuna Nagar basti and basic Computer and English skills to thirty-eight students from the Yerawada slums in collaboration with India Sponsorship Committee.

• The Media Studies department initiated a project titled ‘Apna Bastaa’ in 2016-2017, through the course ‘Creation of a Newspaper/Film/Marketing Communication- AD, PR, Events with New Media’ taught by Shyama Dutta and Ananya Dutta. It centered on getting the SSLA and larger community involved in the Yamuna Nagar project.
• The Marketing Management students studied local NGOs and worked with them to design marketing strategies.
• Students of the course ‘Only One Earth’ organized an exhibition to generate awareness about various environmental issues.
• Collaborative for Asian Anthropology: Community Partners - The SSLA Collaborative for Asian Anthropology (CAA) works to establish meaningful work relationships with community-based groups throughout India, Asia, and beyond. The partnerships include internships, research projects, infrastructure development, enterprises, and other forms of engagement.
• Dr. Barry Rodrigue has worked on collaborations with the following NGOs across India both for community engagement and research. Seven NGOs across India we collaborate are:
• Tarumitra, Bihar
• Karuna Trust, Karnataka
• Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK), Karnataka
• The Ecumenical Christian Centre (ECC), Karnataka
• Pipal Tree / Fireflies Intercultural Centre, Karnataka
• Ganv Bhavancho Ekvott (GBE), Goa
• Kachchh Heritage Arts Music Information Resources (KHAMIR), Gujarat.

Internationalization is a vital element of higher education that focuses on integrating a global and intercultural dimension into the purpose, function, and delivery of post-secondary education. The primary component of internationalization is to promote international dialogue, exchange of ideas, and collaborations through the incorporation of international experience within the teaching-learning environment of SSLA. SSLA integrates an international, global and intercultural dimension into everything that it plans through carefully curated international partnerships with like-minded international institutions. These partnerships are fostered through faculty exchanges, joint conferences, seminars, co-constructed and co-taught courses, joint research collaborations, community outreach and workshops.

Student exchange and experiences

SSLA, through its Global Immersion Programme (GIP), facilitates student exchange programmes, both incoming and outgoing, in the form of semester exchange programmes and summer or winter school programmes. SSLA’s top international institutional partners for student mobility are Leiden University, Lingnan University, University of Hildesheim, Leibniz University, DHBW Heidenheim, Bournemouth University, and DePaul University. SSLA, through its student mobility programmes, not only provides students with cultural and academic immersion experiences but it also helps develop SSLA’s academic programme in terms of global competency and academic rigour. Short-term Summer and Winter progarmmes are also popular among students for short-duration specialized courses and cultural experiences SSLA has organised two Winter Schools for DePaul students which has also led to a learning experience for SSLA students promoting I@H.