The world is changing, we are increasingly interconnected. To successfully address global challenges, education must change and innovate along with it. For students, it is increasingly important to develop intercultural and communication skills in addition to subject knowledge. Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is one such innovation where students and teachers from different countries work together virtually on concrete policy issues, for example migration or mobility.
That global collaboration drives intensive internal cooperation, say Lies Verberk-de Jonge (advisor ICT in Education), Joyce Opdenoordt (internationalisation coordinator at NSM's International Mobility Office) and associate professor of Economics Juliette Alenda-Demoutiez.
At the SURF Education Days - an event on ICT in education - the trio presented how COIL modules are developed within Nijmegen School of Management and contribute to the internationalisation of education.
COIL provides a platform for online, international collaboration between students from different countries and cultures, without the need for physical mobility, Joyce explains. "It is often not a full course, but an assignment embedded in an existing course. Students work on it together, under the guidance of lecturers from the different universities. At the end, they reflect on the content results and their personal experiences, such as: what was it like working with students from other cultural backgrounds?"
Juliette Alenda-Demoutiez is one of the lecturers working with COIL. With faculty colleagues, she has developed a COIL module within a course on sustainability with universities from four different countries: Ghana, Uganda, Eswatini and India. "Bachelor’s students work together on different policy questions around sustainability. They then have to formulate recommendations to a specific stakeholder. Along that process, they experience how an issue, for example migration, is perceived differently worldwide. Students from countries where people migrate often have a different view on migration than students from receiving countries."
Juliette is enthusiastic about the results. "Students develop an international perspective. By looking at an issue from different angles, they gain a nuanced understanding of local and global issues. In evaluations, we see that they have really started to think differently about certain issues and that they are aware of the prejudices they had before. And everyone can participate, including students who have caring responsibilities at home, for example. This is how COIL promotes inclusion and diversity in education. And we reduce CO2 emissions, because no one has to travel."
Isn't it hard to communicate with all those different cultures in one virtual classroom?
Juliette: "That is precisely the main goal: overcoming cultural and communication barriers. Students experience first-hand what it is like to work in an international setting and how complex it can be. African students, for example, are used to working hierarchically, the teacher decides, which is a different approach than our students are used to. And there are also challenges in terms of language: everyone speaks with a different accent. Students have to get out of their comfort zone, but they learn a huge amount from that."
Developing a successful COIL module takes a lot of time and energy, Juliette acknowledges. But if you are passionate about innovative education and internationalisation and love experimenting, she would recommend it straight away. "After all, it also delivers a lot. And teachers can lean on ICT in Education (ICTO) colleagues - from the Teaching Information Point (TIP NSM) - and the International Mobility Office. They are a great support."
What can the TIP do for teachers?
"From the TIP, we try to make it as easy as possible for teachers and students," says Lies Verberk-de Jonge, adviser ICT in Education. "We provide the technological infrastructure so that students and teachers from different countries can communicate and exchange materials smoothly. For that, you need the right platform with the right access. Juliette, for instance, wanted to work with her students in break-out rooms, but that didn't work well. Fortunately, we can then check which platform works better. We solve technical problems like that too."
What is the role of the International Mobility Office?
"Like the TIP, we also try to facilitate teachers," Joyce explains. "There is a growing interest, some teachers want to, but are not so sure how, where and with whom to start. That's why we have developed a COIL handbook. This helps teachers through the first steps. We also support the search for suitable foreign partners and applications for funding. Our COIL newsletter lists a lot of information. We also held a session on COIL in an Education Brown Bag meeting. We will do that again in the new year."
Is COIL already widely used in faculty teaching?
Joyce: "COIL is a relatively new innovation, which by the way is being used not only within Radboud University, but also at other universities. Within the faculty, we now have four ongoing COILs, and we are in contact with several lecturers who want to set up COILs in the near future. In addition, we get questions from other faculties, and even from other universities, about how we organise it. Then we are happy to send the handbook. We like to share our experiences and expertise. It is a beautiful, inclusive and effective way to embed the international perspective in your teaching."