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Preparing future business professionals for a globalized workplace through intercultural virtual collaboration

Preparing future business professionals for a globalized workplace through intercultural virtual... Universities have increasingly been adopting intercultural virtual collaboration (IVC) to connect and develop the intercultural competence of students from different locations. However, the design and implementation of IVC have proved to be challenging, and thus there is a need for sharing positive experiences. This paper explores students’ overall impressions toward their participation in an IVC project involving a Spanish and Dutch university and discusses the on-going improvement process inherent to such practice.Design/methodology/approachThis article presents (a) the results obtained from a content analysis of students’ feedback collected through a satisfaction survey, and (b) the observations of participating teachers on the challenges encountered during the implementation of the intercultural virtual collaborative project.FindingsThe analysis shows the potential of IVC to develop different aspects of students’ intercultural competence, especially intercultural teamwork, awareness and skills. Students appreciated the experience of working in intercultural teams, “the real-life application” of the project and the opportunity to gain cultural knowledge. At the institutional level, the biggest challenge related to aligning participating institutions’ courses, schedules, and grading systems. At the classroom level, it is argued that interaction between students should happen gradually. The discussion also approaches how partnerships between universities and companies could contribute to making training in intercultural virtual collaboration more authentic.Originality/valueGiven its impact on the development of students’ intercultural competence, the intercultural virtual collaborative project has been recognized as a best-practice in both universities, being officially incorporated into the curriculum of the participating institutions and replicated to other subject areas. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Development and Learning in Organizations Emerald Publishing

Preparing future business professionals for a globalized workplace through intercultural virtual collaboration

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References (7)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1477-7282
DOI
10.1108/dlo-08-2019-0194
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Universities have increasingly been adopting intercultural virtual collaboration (IVC) to connect and develop the intercultural competence of students from different locations. However, the design and implementation of IVC have proved to be challenging, and thus there is a need for sharing positive experiences. This paper explores students’ overall impressions toward their participation in an IVC project involving a Spanish and Dutch university and discusses the on-going improvement process inherent to such practice.Design/methodology/approachThis article presents (a) the results obtained from a content analysis of students’ feedback collected through a satisfaction survey, and (b) the observations of participating teachers on the challenges encountered during the implementation of the intercultural virtual collaborative project.FindingsThe analysis shows the potential of IVC to develop different aspects of students’ intercultural competence, especially intercultural teamwork, awareness and skills. Students appreciated the experience of working in intercultural teams, “the real-life application” of the project and the opportunity to gain cultural knowledge. At the institutional level, the biggest challenge related to aligning participating institutions’ courses, schedules, and grading systems. At the classroom level, it is argued that interaction between students should happen gradually. The discussion also approaches how partnerships between universities and companies could contribute to making training in intercultural virtual collaboration more authentic.Originality/valueGiven its impact on the development of students’ intercultural competence, the intercultural virtual collaborative project has been recognized as a best-practice in both universities, being officially incorporated into the curriculum of the participating institutions and replicated to other subject areas.

Journal

Development and Learning in Organizations – Emerald Publishing

Published: Apr 15, 2020

Keywords: Intercultural competence; Business education; Blended learning; Intercultural virtual collaboration; Telecollaboration

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