Internationalisation at Home through Critical Virtual Exchange

This paper explores how student participation in virtual exchange (VE) projects focused on sustainable development can contribute to integrating sustainability into pedagogical practices in higher education.The research involved 105 students from Ukrainian, Polish, and American universities, representing various academic specializations.Emphasis is placed on examining key concepts related to sustainable development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The study is grounded in observational data and interviews conducted during English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses where VE projects were implemented.The findings reveal that VE collaboration fosters student awareness of sustainability and promotes interdisciplinary dialogue across cultural and academic contexts.Through group activities, students not only developed communication skills but also deepened their understanding of the global and local dimensions of sustainability.Most participants reported a positive experience, noting that VE projects made complex sustainability concepts more accessible and relevant to their future professional paths.However, the effectiveness of these initiatives was found to be closely linked to students' motivation, willingness to engage in intercultural teamwork, and prior awareness of socio-environmental challenges.The study concludes that VE projects can be a valuable tool in integrating sustainability into higher education, provided that supportive conditions for engagement are ensured.

This practice report explores the integration of Design Thinking (DT) into virtual exchange (VE) projects to enhance students’ engagement with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite increasing interest in VE and SDGs, there is a lack of research on effective DT practices in VE contexts. This paper fills this gap by identifying best practices: integrating intercultural dialogue principles, fostering multicultural collaboration, and assigning coaches to student teams. These strategies were implemented in a VE involving three institutions across the Middle East, North Africa, and the U.S. Results from both a quantitative survey and qualitative reflections indicate that the combination of DT, intercultural dialogue, and effective coaching not only facilitated students’ understanding and engagement with global issues related to SDGs but also enhanced their professional skills such as creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. This paper contributes best practices for educators aiming to leverage DT for SDGs in VE settings.

Academia in driving University Global Coalition development through mineral extraction, 83-86 Adaptive leadership, 42-43 approaches, 41-43 African climate and development initiative (ACDI), 78 African union's Agenda 2063, building networks of research towards delivery of, 76-78 Agenda 30, 60

Sustainability is a driver of innovation yet the integration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the innovation process is not yet the norm. In many cases, innovators are not even aware of the goals. To expose technology students and future innovators to the importance of SDGs as drivers of sustainable innovation, students from an American and German university worked together in teams on a sustainability and innovation virtual exchange project. Students chose a social impact area (field of technology)—energy, education, transportation, etc., analysed the current state and then identified the innovation that was required for a sustainable future in three different regions of the world twenty years from now. Students mapped the SDGs to their chosen social impact area, and then used this map as a framework for analysis, ideation and innovation. Working collaboratively, students investigated the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal challenges to achieve a sustainable future in the three chosen regions. The virtual exchange project, lessons learned and results achieved will be presented so that other universities might consider engaging in similar initiatives.

Introduction: This study evaluated a Virtual Exchange (VE) project based on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to connect students and faculty across five universities from the USA, Brazil, Honduras, and Algeria. Methods: A four-week program combined synchronous and asynchronous activities, allowing for flexible, self-selected participation. This paper presents a description of this VE project as well as its outcomes. Results: The project successfully fostered global awareness and collaborative dialogue, filling a gap in participants’ regular studies. Participants valued the global connections through the program. Discussion: The VE project demonstrated the potential of self-determined participation in promoting global connections and collaborative learning. The SDGs created a productive space for authentic dialogue framed within a sense of community. Limitations: This project is limited to the scope of exploring selected relevant SDGs and does not include data from the participants´ interactions for analysis and discussion. Conclusions: The VE proved valuable for international educational exchange, particularly benefiting students with limited access to traditional international programs. Future research should include quantitative analysis and explore adding practical action components linked to SDG implementation to enhance impact.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, “provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet” (United Nations, 2020a). The SDGs, which include gender equality, quality education, and ending poverty, are those objectives that must be met by all countries “in a global partnership” (United Nations, 2020a). With the 2030 Agenda in mind, this Virtual Exchange (VE) study reveals learners in different geographical locations who are partnered with one another via technology can benefit from the embedding of SDG content into their VE (Dooly, 2017; Forward et al., 2020). This article focuses on two parallel, but separate, Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) six-week VEs. Teacher trainees from a university in the United States were partnered with other teacher trainees from a university in Poland and/or Colombia. In another cohort, second language (L2) learners of Spanish from a university in the United States were partnered with those from a university in Poland. In each of these groupings, participants completed SCMC sessions via Zoom and discussed the SDGs. Qualitative and quantitative data reveal that awareness of these universal objectives increased and afforded them new perspectives. By using a culturally sensitive lens, teacher trainees developed teaching strategies and L2 learners increased their intercultural competence. These results suggest that integrating SDG content into virtual exchange can support the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and can make a contribution to the field of VE.

Background: Intercultural competence is crucial for employability in a globalized workforce. Virtual exchange, which is seen as an innovative educational pedagogy, offers an alternative to physical exchange, thus effectively enhancing intercultural skills. Previous studies on virtual exchange often had mixed results, small samples, and insufficient control groups. This study enriches the literature by empirically examining virtual exchange with control groups and advancing the understanding of its effectiveness in higher education. Methods: This research employs a controlled quasi-experimental design, which involved 192 participants from a university in Hong Kong. A total of 124 students participated in virtual exchange projects as the experimental group, while 68 students comprised the control group. Results: The findings, which were derived from independent sample t-tests and paired sample t-tests, indicate a significant improvement in intercultural competence levels among the virtual exchange group compared with the control group. Furthermore, a significant growth in intercultural competence was observed from preproject to postproject within the experimental group. The enhancement was primarily driven by improvements in self-awareness, exploration, and world orientation. Implications: The present study underscores the benefit of virtual exchange, which is implemented through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), as a valuable tool for fostering intercultural competence in higher education. Despite the study’s limitations, its implications suggest that educators can effectively integrate virtual exchange into curricula to promote internationalization and strengthen students’ intercultural skills.

Intercultural dialogue is an essential component of intercultural citizenship, i.e., students’ ability to address complex societal issues. With more interconnected problems comes an increased need for students to communicate and collaborate with people from differing backgrounds. This preliminary study combined the framework of Intercultural Citizenship (ICit) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) with Virtual Reality (VR) and Virtual Exchange (VE) to investigate the students’ development of ICit. Fifteen learners of German, consisting of university students of German in the United States and students studying at a German university, met in dyads or triads in VR over six weeks and worked on their independent projects in which they each addressed a societal environmental problem of their choice. Analyses of the data (pre-project and post-project surveys, weekly journal entries, project presentations) revealed that participants developed their intercultural competence and enhanced their critical language awareness. Some students showed a shift of emphasis: While at the beginning they were more concerned with linguistic elements of the German language toward the end of the project they were focused on the topic of their project. Finally, participants appreciated the VR setting for building relationships, communicating, and developing intercultural competence in an authentic setting. This study underscores the potential of advancing ICit and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) through a VR-VE format, emphasizing VR-VE’s potential in fostering relationships-building between students. It also offers students practical experience in navigating and appreciating the complexities of intercultural communication.

The <scp>SDGs</scp>: A change agenda shaping the future of business and humanity at large

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require intercultural collaboration to ensure that the progress made so far becomes permanent and continues to progress towards inclusion and a just approach for all people. This means our learners need intercultural skills and competencies for interacting globally. This research examines how the use of role-playing games in virtual exchange projects can provide global learning experiences on controversial environmental sustainability projects. These games simulate the complexity of multi-stakeholder decisions that are frequently problematic for implementing environmental sustainability projects. From fall 2020 to spring 2022, 267 college students from three continents (North and South America, and Europe) comprising 27 global virtual teams played game simulations as a virtual exchange activity. Results showed that students can engage effectively to reach an agreement as role-playing stakeholders for these conflictual projects (Adj R2 = .498, Chi Square = 4.683, sig. = .003). In addition, meetings among the students held a couple weeks before the game were important in preparing them for the role-playing simulation. Language and cultural barriers proved no impediment for students communicating in a non-native language. Well-timed “nudging” and scaffolding support as well as early intercultural competence self-awareness training by the instructors underpinned these positive learning experiences and outcomes in the games.

Research Objectives In 2022, an intercultural virtual exchange (VE) project between Japanese and Australian primary schools was conducted. Students engaged in activities such as exchanging self-introduction video clips and commenting on counterparts’ clips through Padlet. This study aimed to evaluate teachers’ perspectives on the VE project, uncovering successful aspects and pedagogical issues from the viewpoints of language teachers. The research highlights the transformative potential of technology in promoting intercultural education and underscores the need for teacher collaboration in educational practices. Methodology The study utilized a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with two teachers who participated in the intercultural VE project. The interviews focused on the successful aspects and challenges of the project. The collected data were manually analyzed using a comparative analysis approach to identify key themes and pedagogical challenges. Findings The findings revealed several similarities: Both teachers expressed high satisfaction with the project, emphasized the importance of ongoing interactions, acknowledged initial challenges, and found the experience rewarding. Identified issues included difficulties in aligning school schedules, managing the time-consuming video production process, and obtaining parental consent for using VE platforms. Varying levels of ICT proficiency among teachers also hindered smooth operation, highlighting the need for comprehensive planning and technological skills in VE. Research Outcomes The project’s success was attributed to the dedication and collaboration of educators who integrated technology into their teaching, enhancing students’ linguistic skills and cultural appreciation. Despite challenges, the project provided valuable professional development and emphasized the importance of planning and technological skills. Future Scope Future projects should focus on improving schedule coordination, streamlining the video production process, enhancing ICT training for educators, and developing efficient methods for obtaining parental consent. These steps will ensure smoother implementation and maximize the educational benefits of VE.

This study explored how a learning community was formed and evolved among Chinese and American teacher candidates through a virtual exchange (VE) project embedded in teacher education courses, and how the VE project could support candidates to develop globally competent teaching. Data were collected through pre- and post-surveys, Zoom recordings, peer feedback on lesson plans and recorded teaching segments, and final interviews. Findings indicated that the VE project helped form an authentic platform for in-depth discussions around the topics of language teaching and lesson planning. Abundant evidence related to globally competent teaching and limitations are also detailed in the study.

The traditional model of in-person education is evolving, with distance learning becoming increasingly popular. Virtual Exchange (VE) enhances interest in distance education by adding interactive elements. The University of Helsinki (UHEL) coordinates two EU ERASMUS+ VE projects: &amp;#8220;Climate University for Virtual Exchanges&amp;#8221; (CLUVEX) and &amp;#8220;Una Europa Virtual Exchanges for Sustainability&amp;#8221; (UnaVEx), running from 2023 to 2026. These projects address climate change and sustainable development. Additionally, UHEL leads the ClimEd project, which offers online training on climate services, adaptation, and mitigation, incorporating VE elements.CLUVEX and UnaVEx aim to engage up to 5,000 university students (BSc to PostDoc levels) in VEs over three years. CLUVEX integrates Climate University online courses, while UnaVEx builds on Una Europa Micro-Credential in Sustainability and the associated MOOCs. These projects, involving partners from Europe, Neighbourhood East, and Africa, are testing and refining VE as part of distance learning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ClimEd successfully used VE for remote training with Ukrainian universities, focusing on advanced educational and communication technologies in climate services.Students in CLUVEX and UnaVEx VEs collaborate in international groups to learn about climate change and sustainability. They earn ECTS credits and certificates like the Climate Messenger (CLUVEX) or Sustainability Advocate (UnaVEx). Similarly, ClimEd participants receive training certificates with ECTS credits. Feedback and motivation data are collected to improve the VE approach.Since mid-2023, CLUVEX has developed resources like the Virtual Exchange Guidebook, Climate Literacy Guidebook, and Climate Messenger Code of Conduct, along with climate-related lectures and visualization tools. Six moderator training sessions in 2024 covered topics such as technical skills, MOOCs, soft skills, and CLUVEX handbooks. The first VE Week for students was held on October 14&amp;#8211;18, 2024. UnaVEx began preparations in 2024, focusing on VE Week exercises. Moderator training started in late 2024, with the first VE Week scheduled for February and March 2025, featuring an &amp;#8220;Introduction to Sustainability&amp;#8221; exercise. ClimEd has successfully conducted five of seven planned trainings. The sixth, focusing on MOOC development, is scheduled for February 2025 in Estonia. The seventh, on using climatic information for climate-dependent industries, is planned for April 2025 in Spain.Results from the initial VE Weeks of CLUVEX and UnaVEx will highlight how VEs enhance engagement in distance learning about climate issues. VEs foster skills like remote collaboration, technical proficiency, and teamwork. The ClimEd project&amp;#8217;s completed VE-based trainings will also be summarized.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis work was supported by the EU funded Erasmus+ projects: via CLUVEX (No 101111959), via UnaVEx (No101139159), via ClimEd (No 619285-EPP-1-2020-1-FI-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP).

In this chapter, the author investigates the potential value of adding subtitles to student-produced English-language videos in a virtual exchange (VE) context. While VE provides opportunities for authentic intercultural communication and language practice without requiring travel, comprehension difficulties may undermine its effectiveness. A small-scale study was conducted with 141 first- and second-year university students in Japan, whose videos were also shared with peers in China. Students created short videos on Japanese cuisine or the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In total, 19 groups added English subtitles, while 18 did not. Peers completed comprehension questions alongside feedback rubrics. Results indicated that subtitles enhanced comprehension, with videos containing subtitles achieving significantly higher rates of correct responses (82.5%) compared to those without (73.2%). The difference was particularly pronounced for SDG-themed videos, where subtitles appeared crucial to understanding more complex subject matter. Student reflections supported the quantitative results, noting that subtitles aided understanding, especially when accents or speed posed challenges. Despite limitations concerning audio quality, question design, and sample size, the findings suggest that subtitles can play an important role in improving comprehension in VE projects. The study highlights the pedagogical potential of integrating subtitles into audiovisual materials to enhance both language learning and intercultural communication.

Purpose Instantiated in UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education for All is the target that all learners acquire skills necessary for global citizenship. Cross-cultural virtual exchanges (VEs) using problem-based learning can be valuable for students’ global awareness and, relatedly, their intercultural communication competencies. In a VE, facilitators from diverse contexts collaborate to guide student discourse by making discursive decisions (planned and impromptu) that shape the course of conversation. This study aims to explore facilitator positioning, including their discursive choices, during a problem-based, SDG 4-focused VE that brought together secondary students situated in the USA and China, two countries facing heightened geopolitical tensions. Design/methodology/approach This case study used discourse analytic methods to examine the discursive roles that three facilitators took on during a cross-cultural VE between Chinese and US secondary students in fall 2023. Data sources included semistructured interviews with facilitators; transcripts of VE facilitator work sessions; and transcripts of VE sessions, including multimodal artifacts produced and shared by VE student participants. Findings Facilitators described “charged” moments as emotionally and socially tense instances, often triggered by student comments on geopolitically sensitive topics. Results revealed that facilitators enacted patterned, discursive positioning roles – e.g., framer, repair maker and amicable host – to manage these moments. Facilitators struggled to balance open dialogue with perceived geopolitical sensitivities; at times, conversations were constrained, limiting the intended purpose of shared exploration of SDG 4: Quality Education for All. The results point to some incongruence between facilitators’ beliefs in the value of open discourse and their impromptu and planned discursive choices, indicating value for improved preparation for VE facilitators. Positioning, as an anticipatory pedagogical frame for VE facilitators, is discussed as a tool to align facilitator discursive choices with pedagogical aims. Research limitations/implications As is true for any case study, the findings are not generalizable to a broader population and instead should be interpreted as a close analysis of phenomena that occurred in this bounded setting with this bounded population. The study demonstrates the value of research studies that examine discursive interactions and the ways facilitators influence dialogic, problem-based global learning experiences. Practical implications The study examines facilitator discourse and positioning work in a problem-based cross-cultural VE. It explores facilitator discursive positioning during perceived “charged” dialogue and introduces positioning theory as a useful anticipatory pedagogical tool for improved facilitator preparation. Originality/value The study examines facilitator discourse and positioning work in a problem-based cross-cultural VE. It explores facilitator discursive positioning during perceived “charged” dialogue and introduces positioning theory as a useful anticipatory pedagogical tool in preparing VE facilitators to navigate sensitive topics, promote inclusive dialogue and cultivate students’ global citizenship competencies.