Equally interesting in the Southampton project is the conviction that students should be aware of the wider community, and find ways to make contributions to it. In today's shrinking world, students are increasingly aware that a university is not an ivory tower of learning, cut off from the real problems of the world, but on the contrary, can itself be an agent for change for a better world. There are numerous ways in which students can be volunteers – before, during, or after their degree courses. With courses making heavy demands on students' time, as we have seen, a popular option is to take a gap year before or after university.