intercultural competence in Higher Education

Working Through COVID19 Times and Beyond: What could be the next normal for intercultural education, training and research?

Submitted by Jillaine Farrar, Vice President SIETAR Switzerland Around the globe, teachers and researchers have embraced change during the COVID-19 lockdown. Intercultural, social and technical challenges have accompanied teachers, students and researchers around the world. Acknowledging that there are limitations in what can be expected from all involved was an important starting point. Next comes […]

Relating across cultures in university classes: Understanding and addressing the challenges

by Dr. Helen Spencer-Oatey, University of Warwick Employers frequently identify the ability to work effectively in diverse teams, including the ability to communicate and relate well with others, as one of the crucial skill sets they are looking for in graduates (e.g. British Council, 2013, 2018; Coffelt & Smith, 2020; Diamond, Walkley, Forbes, Hughes, & […]

Making the academics of ICC relevant to students in a globalized world

An interview with Russell Harlow, Head of Global Resourcing, TMA World An issue that appears to be recurrent in the intercultural field has to do with the fact that efforts being made at the academic level are somehow not translating into visible outcomes in terms of intercultural competence. Do you see a disconnect between academia […]

Time to rethink research focus of ICC?

An interview with Dr Pia Stalder, Associate Professor of Intercultural Management, HEIG-VD, Yverdon I believe you have a new spin to share on how empirical research could shift its focus to address ICC and the benefits it could bring to the research. Can you tell me a bit more about it? In most – empirical […]

A critique of “Tables and Chairs” teaching of ICC in schools

An interview with Daniel Glinz, Senior Coach and Trainer, cinfo, Biel What would you say are some specific shortfalls in the way intercultural competence/communication is taught in higher education? If we want to efficiently develop intercultural communication competence, we need to do it in a holistic way. This means that we have to get out […]

Exchange programs and internationalization strategies; holistic approaches to enhancing ICC in among students?

An interview with Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey, Professor at the Centre for Applied Linguistics The University of Warwick. There seems to be a focus on on-boarding programs as the surest way of embedding intercultural competence in students in higher education. Is this a foolproof method or should we begin to look internally for other ways students […]

Certificate of Global Competence; a look at BFH’s program to prepare students for global professional roles

An interview with Pesche Eigenmann, International Relations Officer at the Bern University of Applied Sciences. In 2014 the Bern University of Applied Sciences began offering the Certificate of Global Competence to its students. The aim of this certificate is to provide students with “excellent preparation for a professional future in a globalized context”. What do […]

An in-depth view of University of Bern’s award-winning study abroad program; MILSA

An interview with Dr Annie Cottier, Program Manager for the Mentoring Intercultural Learning through Study Abroad; MILSA, The University of Bern Dr Cottier is also the International Delegation Visits Coordinator at the University. Our conversation centered around how the MILSA program is fostering intercultural competence amongst students. What is the nature of engagements you have […]

Should schools be doing more to support onboarding programs for students?

An interview with Pauline Starrenberger, Student at the University of Fribourg Pauline Starrenberger was the “student voice” on the panel. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Education Sciences and French as a Foreign Language at the University of Fribourg. Before this, she spent a year in the US on an au pair program […]

Intercultural Competence Development in Higher Education

Interview with Dr. Barbara Covarrubias Venegas, Researcher at the Department of Management, University of Applied Sciences for Management and Communication in Vienna (https://en.fh-wien.ac.at) Is it only the pull from a fast globalizing business world that has pushed institutions of higher education all over the world to identify cultural intelligence as a key developmental area for […]