Tag: virtual exchanges

International Virtual Exchanges

Intercultural Pedagogy

D’Agostino, Susan. (2022, August 31). Virtual exchanges promote equity in global learning. Inside Higher Education.

This article describes a virtual exchange project between students in the USA coordinated with students from Iraq on the topic of the United Nations’ sustainability goals. They examined sustainability challenges in their respective communities, working together both synchronously and asynchronously. Then they worked together on solving a single applied problem.

The most common virtual exchange programs focus on intercultural dialogue and peace building; science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and global or international affairs…

Study abroad programs often target students who have adequate financial support to cover the costs, and so are not as often accessible to students who do not. Virtual exchanges bypass that difficulty, while still providing much of the cultural exchange and learning. As study abroad programs were substantially curtailed due to the pandemic, this is also a good way to maintain international connections when travel is limited.

The program supporting this particular example is the Stevens Initiative, “a U.S. government–funded initiative administered by the Aspen Institute that works to expand virtual exchange options to regions of the world where U.S. students have not studied abroad in large numbers, including in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Global Case Study Challenge Virtual Exchange (Austria)

“Collaborative

2022 Global Case Study Challenge Virtual Exchange/COIL, Global Work Competency Laboratory, Klagenfurt, Austria. Deadline: 15 August 2022.

COIL Connect 2

The Global Case Study Challenge (GCSC) is an award-winning 8-week teaching and learning program for BA and MA-level students. It’s a high-impact career-oriented VE focusing on collaborative global virtual teamwork and the development of intercultural, digital communication and sustainability competencies.

Organizers are excited to be moving into the fifth iteration of the GCSC. To date, 1450 students and 50 educators from 30 universities across 20 different countries have worked together in the GCSC on real-life business cases in 380 Global Virtual Teams.

Feel free to share with interested colleagues across the globe.

Sign-up here.

Erasmus+ Virtual Exchanges

Applied ICDErasmus+ Virtual Exchange is part of the Erasmus+ programme, providing an accessible, ground-breaking way for young people to engage in intercultural learning.

Working with Youth Organisations and Universities, Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange is open to any young person aged 18-30 residing in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean. Through a range of activities, Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange aims to expand the reach and scope of the Erasmus+ programme through Virtual Exchanges, which are technology-enabled people-to-people dialogues sustained over a period of time.

Specific programs include:

  • Professional development for youth workers and university educators to learn how to develop a Transnational Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Project (TEP) in order to enrich and expand existing programmes.

  • Advocacy training bringing young people from different backgrounds together to develop parliamentary debate skills with the support of a network of trained debate team leaders, fostering listening and understanding through advocacy training.

  • Interactive Open Online Courses across cultural contexts and national boundaries to learn with peers from diverse backgrounds using bite-sized video lectures, supported by skill building activities and facilitated intercultural discussions.

 

Dorm Room Diplomacy

I just ran across an interesting example of applied intercultural dialogue that may be of particular interest either to students taking, or faculty teaching, courses on intercultural topics:

“Founded by students at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, Dorm Room Diplomacy fosters intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding among an international group of university students. Dorm Room Diplomacy employs videoconference technology to facilitate virtual exchanges that help students to see the individuals behind reductionist cultural stereotypes.

The videoconference program occurs each academic semester, and the same set of 8 students join in a virtual dialogue with a trained facilitator each week. Dorm Room Diplomacy is entirely student-run, encouraging students to take ownership over the dialogue process, establish campus chapters, and empower themselves and their peers. As a non-partisan organization, Dorm Room Diplomacy does not engage in political activities or advocacy, other than the promotion of intercultural dialogue. “

For more information, and for the source of this quote, go to the website for Dorm Room Diplomacy.

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