The project aims to build capacity to internationalise and transform higher education curricula by broadening student participation in the internationalisation process. The project is key as institutions are not prepared for curriculum internationalisation, which will become mandatory in the near future, particularly as physical student mobility is unable to reach a sufficient number of students in South Africa.iKUDU will develop and effect strategies to guide curriculum internationalisation through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) virtual exchanges. COIL is a novel teaching and learning initiative that advances global competencies across shared multicultural learning environments using Internet-based tools and online pedagogies. Students in two countries use electronic communication to work jointly through virtual exchange. Noteworthy is the intentional development of intercultural communicative competence amongst staff and students. Working with a peer in another country, the lecturer facilitates the competencies and skills necessary to live and work in a multicultural, interconnected world through COIL virtual exchanges. The project will train 55 teaching staff to become experts in curriculum internationalisation and transformation, and COIL virtual exchange. They will be equipped to train additional COIL virtual exchange experts. During the project’s lifespan, 55 sustainable COIL virtual exchanges will be developed with European partner universities, in which 2625 South African students will partake.The impact of the project will be that all students at partner institutions will benefit from internationalised and transformed curricula. The 55 trained COIL virtual exchange experts, who will be competent to train future cohorts, will be a critical mass to ensure that in the longer term a substantive part of the student population at South African partner universities will be able to access international exposure through COIL virtual exchanges.
The project aimed to develop a contextualised SAn concept of IoC within the broader framework of curriculum and transformation , and build capacity for IoC and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), through: (i)Curriculum Internationalisation and transformation,(ii)implementation of COIL virtual exchanges, (iii)Engaging 5,250 students in COIL virtual exchanges, and (iv)Ensuring validation and scalability.Project website: https://www.ufs.ac.za/ikudu/ikudu-home-page
National policy compels South African (SA) Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to internationalise the curriculum (IoC) within the broader transformation agenda. IoC in SA remains in its developmental stage, while student exchange programmes for SA students are extremely limited. COIL is an innovative approach that promotes the development of intercultural competence through virtual collaboration between students from multicultural learning environments within the formal curriculum.
<< Background >> National policy compels South African (SA) Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to internationalise the curriculum (IoC) within the broader transformation agenda. IoC in SA remains in its developmental stage, while student exchange programmes for SA students are extremely limited. COIL is an innovative approach that promotes the development of intercultural competence through virtual collaboration between students from multicultural learning environments within the formal curriculum. << Objectives >> The project aimed to develop a contextualised SAn concept of IoC within the broader framework of curriculum and transformation , and build capacity for IoC and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), through: (i)Curriculum Internationalisation and transformation,(ii)implementation of COIL virtual exchanges, (iii)Engaging 5,250 students in COIL virtual exchanges, and (iv)Ensuring validation and scalability.Project website: https://www.ufs.ac.za/ikudu/ikudu-home-page << Implementation >> The project kicked-off November 2019 and outlined initial preparatory actions. The pandemic made the planned travel-related activities impossible. The adaptive management model proved crucial for addressing the project's challenges. The steering committee coordinated activities to maintain alignment. The two thematic working groups worked alongside towards shared objectives, through the project phases: preparatory, preparation and pilot, full-scale implementation, and validation and scalability. << Results >> Over the 54 months, the project achieved significant results, e.g. Developed contextualised guidelines for IoC and COILTrained 239 academics on curriculum internationalisationDeveloped COIL training programmesTrained 397 staff on COILCompleted 60 COIL exchange projectsEngaged 3385 students in COIL exchangesExecuted 140 COIL evaluationsPublished a COIL handbook and toolkitsDissemination happened through 23 peer reviewed publications, 22 opinion pieces, 17 webinars, 21 conference papers.