Month: June 2023

UNESCO Reimagining Our Futures Together

“UNESCO”

UNESCO Futures of Education Commission. (2021). Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education. Paris, France: UNESCO.

UNESCO’s Futures of Education initiative aims to rethink education and shape the future. The initiative is catalyzing a global debate on how knowledge, education and learning need to be reimagined in a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty, and precarity. Over the course of two years and drawing on the inputs of over a million people, an independent International Commission under the leadership of the President of Ethiopia, Her Excellency President Sahle-Work Zewde prepared a global report on the Futures of Education. That report is now available in 12 languages.

Download the full report: Arabic | Bahasa Indonesian | Catalan | Chinese | English | French | Italian | Korean | Latvian | Mongolian | Portuguese | Spanish

[CID was one of the organizations consulted by the initiative, and is acknowledged in the report; see the CID Report for UNESCO Futures of Education for the conclusions of 3 focus groups we organized at their request.]

Justus Liebig U: Studentship in Intercultural Communication & Business 2023 (Germany)

“Studentships“

PHD Candidate and Research Assistant position, Intercultural Communication and Business, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany. Deadline: 18 July 2023.

Founded in 1607, Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) is a research university rich in tradition. They are currently offering a part-time position (50 %), for a PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in the field of Intercultural Communication and Business. The position is to be filled on a fixed-term basis at the Chair of Intercultural Communication and Business, Department of English at the Faculty of Language, Literature, Culture. As long as the maximum permissible duration of a fixed-term contract is not exceeded, you will be employed for an initial period of 3 years. An extension for up to another 2 years is possible under the above-mentioned condition.

JLU aims to employ more women in academic research. They therefore particularly encourage female candidates to apply. Due to the women’s support plan, there is an obligation to increase the proportion of women. JLU is regarded as a family-friendly university. Applicants with children are very welcome. Applications from disabled people of equal aptitude will be given preference.

Your tasks at a glance:

  • Opportunity for own academic and didactic qualification, activities in research and teaching according to § 72 HessHG
  • Taking on teaching duties according to the teaching obligation ordinance of the state of Hessen
  • Conduct research at the interface of two or more of the following areas: intercultural communication and education, cultural anthropology, intercultural management, international and political communication, migration and diaspora studies – with a focus on China and Asia.
  • Prepare and teach seminars and tutorials in undergraduate and graduate programs: teaching responsi­bilities – totaling two hours per week during each semester – include examination duties and student supervision
  • Develop and conduct a PhD research project
  • Assist the Chair with academic self-administration

CFP Frontiers: Intercultural Communication and International Students

“PublicationCall for papers: Research Topic: Intercultural Communication and International Students, Frontiers in Communication. Deadline: abstract by 10 October 2023, manuscript by 31 March 2024.

This Research Topic to be edited by Jiayi Wang (De Montfort University, UK) and Anastassia Zabrodskaja (Tallinn University, Estonia).

With internationalization high on the agenda of education providers worldwide, the complex relationship between intercultural communication and the international student phenomenon deserves close study.

Being an international student is a great opportunity to be exposed to a new language and culture and to develop intercultural communication skills. Traditionally, the phrase ‘international students’ refers to those who undertake all or part of their education in a country other than their own. For present purposes, though, we adopt a broad definition of the phrase to include transnational education (TNE) students, who are often regarded as international students by their awarding institutions.

The number of international students pursuing tertiary education reached 6.3 million in 2020 (up from 2 million in 2000), and this number continues to grow (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2023). The recent decade has also seen a tremendous expansion of TNE, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of size and scale. TNE is the delivery of education in a country other than the one in which the degree-granting institution is based. TNE takes many diverse forms, including dual degrees, joint institutes, and international branch campuses, to name but a few. In many cases, students can get a foreign degree without ever leaving their home country or region.

Research on international students is often scattered across different disciplines, including communication, education, psychology, and language and linguistics. The field of intercultural communication (a term often used interchangeably with ‘cross-cultural communication’) investigates how people from different cultural backgrounds communicate. The combination of intercultural communication and international students is a broad and fascinating topic of research. Extant research on the topic has mainly focused on the following areas: international students’ perceptions of intercultural communication, the difficulties faced by international students, and the correlations between different variables; e.g., intercultural communication competence and effectiveness, intergroup anxiety, intercultural sensitivity, attitude towards other cultures, (meta)stereotypes, sensation seeking, ethnocentrism, empathy, mindfulness, and motivation to engage in intercultural communication.

These studies have offered valuable insights into the predictors of intercultural communication competence and effectiveness and the pathways for developing this competence and effectiveness. However, intercultural communication and international students is a complex topic that requires a multifaceted approach that transcends disciplinary boundaries. Research on the topic is lagging behind the growth of student numbers, and there are many gaps and underexplored areas. For example, TNE students have rarely been studied from an intercultural communication perspective, and international students’ perceptions of intercultural communication are much less explored than those of faculty and home students. Additionally, while academic advising has been found to be vital to international student success, academic advisers have reported a lack of institutional training on how to deal with international students. The actual intercultural interactions of, and with, international students have rarely been studied in detail.

Against this background, this Research Topic seeks to create interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation, exploring the gaps and underexamined areas of intercultural communication and international students. Themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to:

• language and communication
• intercultural communication competence and effectiveness
• intercultural interaction
• international student experience
• transnational education (TNE)
• internationalization.

CFP: BAICE Early Career Conference 2023 (UK but Online)

ConferencesCall for abstracts: British Association for Comparative and International Education Early Career Conference, UK but online, 5-6 August 2023. Deadline: 3 July 2023.

The call for abstracts is now open for The British Association for Comparative International Education (BAICE). The Student Committee warmly welcomes your submissions to the 2023 Annual Early Career conference, ‘Transformative education as a force for change: reflections and experiences from around the world’. The conference will be held over two days, hosted online via Zoom.

They invite submissions from postgraduate students, researchers and practitioners engaged with education research. The conference offers a dynamic and friendly environment for postgraduate researchers to showcase and discuss their research, even if the research is still in early stages. Attendees will be able to listen to colleagues from different areas of the Education Studies field; those presenting will be able to receive feedback in a diverse, constructive and academically rigorous environment. They welcome innovative and creative submissions on any research topic concerned with ‘Transformative education as a force for change: reflections and experiences from around the world.’

Knappitsch Guest Post: The Global Case Study Challenge

Guest Posts
The Global Case Study Challenge: Competencies for the Future of Work in Virtual Environments.
Guest post by Eithne Knappitsch.

The Global Case Study Challenge (GCSC) began as a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)/Virtual Exchange program, offering students an authentic and immersive intercultural learning opportunity. As the importance of New Work and remote work contexts grew following COVID, it became clear that students and professionals needed to develop more effective competencies to excel virtual and hybrid work environments. Initial iterations of the GCSC revealed that while students possessed strong digital skills, they frequently lacked essential digital collaboration competencies – the attitude, knowledge, and skills to become high performing teams in diverse, interdisciplinary, and international contexts. Recognizing this gap in competencies needed for future New Work environments and those acquired at higher educational institutions, the need for the GCSC to further develop into a transformative, career-oriented global teaching and learning program became obvious. At the same time, the GCSC management team – a virtual female-led team – became inspired by the potential for virtual exchange to contribute to a paradigm shift in higher educational settings as responsible and sustainable forms of education (and internationalization). The GCSC, over the five consequent iterations from 2018 onward evolved into a transformative program, resulting in the development of the GLOW model. This CID guest post explores how the GCSC GLObal Work (GLOW) model addresses these pressing needs and empowers students and educators with the competencies required to excel in virtual and intercultural work settings.

Download the entire guest post as a PDF.

U Wroclaw: Intercultural Education (Poland)

“JobAssistant Professor of Intercultural Education, Department of Intercultural Education and Social Support Research, Institute of Pedagogy, University of Wroclaw, Poland. Deadline: 30 August 2023.

University of Wroclaw invites applications for the position of assistant professor in the Department of Intercultural Education and Social Support Research, Institute of Pedagogy at the Faculty of Historical and Pedagogical Sciences. Requirements include: Doctoral degree (Ph.D) awarded in a scientific field of social science, discipline of pedagogy; Polish and English proficiency allowing writing scientific publications, participating in conferences, and conducting classes with students.

Columbia U: International Projects and Partnerships Manager (USA)

“JobInternational Projects and Partnerships Manager, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, USA (Hybrid position). Deadline: 14 July 2023.

The Office of Global Engagement (OGE) at Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is seeking an International Projects and Partnerships Manager to further international engagement at the College. Reporting to the Director of the Office of Global Engagement, the incumbent will support the development and expansion of strategic partnerships with institutions and organizations abroad. The incumbent will be responsible for overseeing short- and long-term collaborations from initiation to closure; and will liaise with internal and external stakeholders (e.g. academic institutions, Ministries of Education, Columbia Global Centers, etc.) to carry out program initiatives abroad or at the College through in-residence programs. In addition, the International Projects and Partnerships Manager will be expected to conduct research to vet potential partners; draft and edit collaboration agreements; manage partnership and program activities; and develop funding proposals and budgets.

Multicultural Music: Cultural Connections Over Time

Applied ICD

Williger, Jonathan. (23 May 2023). From Pomona to Heart Mountain: “La Banda Más Chingón en Wyoming.” Folklife Magazine.

“The cultural and geographic lineage of “La Banda Más Chingón en Wyoming” by No-No Boy with Mariachi Los Broncos is culturally layered and deeply American: a mariachi rendition of a folk-country song about a 1940s Japanese American swing band, composed in Wyoming by the son of a Vietnamese refugee from Nashville performed in Southern California. Brimming with ecstatic energy and righteous anger, the song draws connections between recent waves of migration from Central and South America and the long history of Asian American immigration and the discrimination both groups have experienced once they reached American soil.”

This recording is a great example of combining multiple cultural heritages through music. The article explicitly discusses the parallels between current Latin American migrants to the US, and Japanese Americans during World War II.

UNESCO Intercultural Competencies for Peacemaking

“UNESCO”

Regional Expert Consultations on Intercultural Competencies for Peacemaking, UNESCO, Paris, France.

UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector has launched the UNESCO Series of Regional Expert Consultations on Intercultural Competencies for Peacebuilding. Through these consultations, UNESCO aims to explore the potential of the development of intercultural and socio-emotional skills to serve as an enabler for peace in fragile, conflict-affected and post-conflict contexts. The first out of the six regional editions focused on Europe and was held 20 June 2023 (notice did not reach CID in time to advertise it). The goal is to bring together policymakers, practitioners and researchers in the fields of peace and conflict studies, psychology and intercultural education to discuss the main challenges to intercultural understanding, the role of intercultural skills in building trust among different parties, and ways of improving intercultural competence to better promote peacebuilding efforts, paying a particular attention to the role of women and youth.

The consultations are held online and open to the public, so if you are interested, look for future announcements.

CRASSH: CIRN Intesa Sanpaolo Visiting Fellowship 2023/24 (UK)

FellowshipsCIRN Intesa Sanpaolo Visiting Fellowship 2023/24, CRASSH, University of Cambridge, UK. Deadline: 31 July 2023.

CIRN Intesa Sanpaolo Visiting Fellowship offers an opportunity for an outstanding early career scholar whose research focuses on Italy to spend a period of time at Cambridge developing their research on a given broad theme, contributing to the Cambridge Italian Research Network (CIRN) and joining the Cambridge Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH).

The research theme for the Fellowship in 2023/24 will be ‘Diverse Italy’.

The Fellowship is open to early career scholars working on Italy from outside Cambridge (i.e., neither current researchers nor current members of staff at Cambridge), irrespective of their current status of employment, subject to visa conditions. ‘Early career’ is here defined as within five years of completing a PhD in any relevant field or discipline, allowing for career breaks. Near-native proficiency in English is a requirement for the Fellowship.