|
, Vice-President, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal
On 20 March 2006, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria and Polytechnic Institute of Macau established a Protocol regarding the creation of a joint degree in Translation and Interpretation Portuguese/Chinese – Chinese/Portuguese, which was created in both Portugal and China. Later, University of Foreign Languages, Pequim joined the project. The degree has 240 ECTS and takes place over eight semesters. It is being developed simultaneously in Portugal and in the People’s Republic of China. It is intended that students, in addition to acquiring knowledge of Portuguese and Mandarin, as well as translation and interpretation skills, will have close contact with the culture of both countries. The diploma is awarded jointly by the partner institutions. The project also involves the exchange of teachers to ensure that foreign language learning is provided by native teachers. In the academic year 2008 to 2009, 38 Chinese students were studying in Portugal and 20 Portuguese students in the People’s Republic of China. The partner institutions are currently working on a joint second cycle degree. This poster will outline this innovative cooperation project, already in its fourth year of successful implementation.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Assistant Director for Communications, Office for International Students and Scholars, Michigan State University, USA
, Software Programmer, Office of International Studies, Michigan State University, USA
Michigan State University (MSU) has undertaken a communication approach to encourage international student mobility. MSU is one of the major players in study abroad in the US. It currently has over 260 programmes on all continents and in more than 60 countries. With rapid changes in technology, study abroad programmes are now facing new challenges and new opportunities. MSU's International Studies and Programmes department is looking at ways to address these challenges through a mobile application. It began by gathering knowledge about the various mobile web user groups and their respective needs, the proposed value of various content and services and the factors that influence users’ perceived value of this medium and relative perceived importance placed on these services and content. There is also an assessment of technology options available in fulfilling these needs. This poster will discuss and encourage collaborative work using mobile technology by sharing a model that outlines optimal mobile web strategy for Higher Education departments recruiting and serving study abroad participants.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Department for Educational Research and Educational Management, Heinrich-Heine-University Dusseldorf, Germany
‘Going global’ in higher education usually means that students and academics experience higher education abroad to expand their knowledge of other cultures, languages and scientific discourses, and to better equip themselves in an increasingly globalised labour market. This poster will consider how access to mobility can be broadened to students previously excluded due to their financial situation or other reasons. It will discuss the teaching project ‘Sociology of Education International’ as an example of using eLearning technology to integrate international mobility into the curriculum. This poster will demonstrate how a blended learning class can lead undergraduate students to intercultural learning experience and encourage them to study abroad. In this project, the virtual classroom enables students to discuss the similarities and differences of the German and American educational systems, as well as issues of first generation students with our American cooperation partners: Marquette University, Milwaukee and University of California, Irvine. Due to excellent evaluation results the teaching project will last until summer 2010. This poster will summarise the challenges and outcomes associated with establishing an international teaching cooperation by using eLearning tools. It may inspire academics and students to think about eLearning as a path to ‘go global’.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Principal Lecturer, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, UK
In recent decades, higher education has been made available around the world in a way that previous generations could only imagine. This ‘massification’ of higher education has provided opportunities not only for students but for staff to ‘go global’. Business Schools need to play a central role in this globalisation and internationalisation process which integrates social, economic, technological, environmental and political aspects of the world. Thus, responding as ‘citizens of the world’, faculty staff can contribute towards what is sometimes seen as the growing interdependencies of a global education community. This poster will consider the opportunities, challenges and barriers of faculty global mobility. It will explore the challenges and experiences of those lecturers who undertake foreign teaching assignments. The purpose is to gain greater understanding and provide practical insight and application into this developing area of faculty work. Through both qualitative and quantitative methods, presenters will analyse the experiences of Business School faculty whose work involves teaching outside of the UK. Evidence suggests that challenges and barriers may outweigh the opportunities afforded by this work, and issues surrounding culture differences, language, and bureaucracy create paradox and tensions for both student and staff. Challenges faced through global education simultaneously inspire and detract.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Senior Education Officer (New Senior Secondary), Education Bureau, Hong Kong
These two posters will discuss the New Academic Structure (NAS) that was implemented in Hong Kong in September 2009. The old Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and Hong Kong Advanced Level Education, which are equivalents of GCSEs and A-levels, are going to be replaced by a single diploma examination called Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination after three, instead of four, years of senior secondary education. This will lead to a new four-year undergraduate degree structure, from 2012, replacing the current three year model. Hong Kong’s reforms present challenges for countries that have traditionally recruited large numbers of students due to supply of higher levels of education not meeting demand. It also poses challenges as it moves away from a system that has historical roots in UK models of education. How will the change in student programmes impact the outlook of Hong Kong students and others? Will reforms reduce Hong Kong students’ demand for overseas education? Will new local solutions erect new barriers for mobility, or does education reform present new bridges for collaboration and two-way student mobility? These posters will highlight the major changes to the academic structure in Hong Kong and the critical milestones in transition to the NAS for reference of international inbound students coming to study senior secondary or university education in Hong Kong; and international admission professionals of senior secondary or university education recruiting outbound students from Hong Kong. The first poster will compare the Old Academic Structure and the NAS, while the second will illustrate the progression of changes between old and new academic structures. The aim is to inform the audience of the changes that are going to take place and the landscape of the NAS.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Director of Marketing, Aston University, UK
A student exchange between Aston University and Korea University has funded by the Prime Minister’s Initiative for International Education (PMI2). Aston University has been keen to expand opportunities for students to spend time abroad as research shows that, increasingly, international experience increases a student’s ability in intercultural team working. PMI2 funding has enabled Aston University to offer scholarships for students to spend their third year placement or summer in Korea. They made an agreement with Korea University to exchange students, and offered students in the UK scholarships to help fund study in Korea. A total of 17 students will visit Korea this year – six undergraduates are spending a full year abroad and the remaining students, both undergraduates and postgraduates, attended an international student summer school. A pre-departure briefing took place for students going to Korea, involving the learning of basic Korean phrases, as well as the new culture and customs of the students’ new temporary home country. A recent visit to the students in Korea showed that they are all thriving. This poster will outline the exchange between Aston University and Korea University and the benefits of international student mobility.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Reader in Design, Nottingham Trent University, UK
, Senior Lecturer in Design, Nottingham Trent University, UK
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is using imagery to express the collective impressions of a group of 12 art and design students from NTU to Chung Ang University (CAU) in South Korea in June 2009 through PMI2 Connect. The poster will consider the collective impressions of these students in terms of clichés and culture shock, cultural differences around time and space, the importance of duty and respect, and the tension between heritage and innovation. NTU students are currently arranging their reflections into a frieze, a selection of images that record what they saw, found and made themselves whilst studying alongside counterparts at CAU. NTU will mount the frieze in the entrance to the main school building in 2010. This Going Global 4 poster will be a similarly artistic reflection of the visit.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, ‘Prepare for Success’ Project Assistant, University of Southampton, UK
, Senior Teaching Fellow in eLearning, Modern Languages, University of Southampton, UK
Prepare for Success (PfS) is a free web-based learning resource for international students destined for the UK. Developed with funding from the Prime Minister’s Initiative for International Education (PMI2) through the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), this multimedia interactive learning resource helps students discover what UK academic culture is like and explore the kind of academic skills required for effective study. It also provides scope for students to improve their language skills. PfS can add to any institution's support during both pre-arrival and, increasingly, post-arrival - from a link on an institutional website to incorporation into a tutored, VLE-based course. PfS is now entering its third phase of development, building on the success of two previous phases since its launch in the summer of 2008. Students from over 160 countries are using it and there have been over 60,000 hits on the site so far. Institutions both in the UK and overseas have embedded PfS in their pre-arrival packages and classroom teaching. This poster will present some of the statistical data and feedback that has been gathered about PfS from the website and its users.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Crystal Presentations/elp-DESK, UK
The elp-DESK project is an international network co-funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme. The project seeks to raise awareness and recognition of the Europass Language Passport and identify means and tools to disseminate the document throughout Europe. The primary aim is to investigate how the Passport can become a standard element of the professional and academic curriculum for all European citizens. With the Passport, people can describe their language skills using a six-step scale based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (levels A1-C2), taking into account formal and non-formal or informal learning. The main aim is to ensure that individuals can present their language abilities in the fullest and most effective way, and that these descriptions can be easily understood and assessed by those responsible for recruiting new staff and students. The elp-DESK project aims to propose specific guidelines for the implementation of the Passport in all significant educational and employment contexts, and investigate ways in which the existing format and presentation could be improved to aid dissemination and recognition across Europe.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Director of Education, Faculty of Telecommunication and e-Business, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland
There are a number of barriers to staff mobility and possible solutions for the Faculty of Telecommunication and e-Business at Turku University of Applied Sciences. Staff exchanges are an essential part of achieving and supporting the internationalisation of the faculty. While a small number of staff members are active in exchange, a much larger number are not willing to take part. In autumn 2008, staff members were surveyed about the barriers to exchange and possible solutions. 77 staff members answered the survey. The results identified 115 barriers to staff exchange and 78 possible solutions to support and increase staff exchanges. The barriers were classified in seven different categories: family and friends, language skills, work responsibilities at home university, lack of information, personal insecurity, too much work needed for an exchange period and finance. Almost half of staff members who responded to the survey named family and friends as the main barrier for not taking part in exchange. Other significant barriers related to work responsibilities at home university and personal insecurity. Possible solutions were classified in the following categories: yearly working plan, language trainings, exchange implementation, share experiences, why go to exchange?, concrete support, and curriculum changes. This poster will discuss the problems and challenges relating to these identified barriers and the proposed solutions while introducing a detailed plan to increase international staff mobility in the faculty.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, University Teacher, PhD student, School of Sport Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
, Associate Professor in Anatomy, Senior Lecturer in Medical Informatics, Mednet, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
The ‘Remote University Networks’ (RUN) is a collaboration between University of Gothenburg (UG) and Stanford University (SU) through funding from a Wallenberg Global Learning Network grant. To address the need for better integration of computer, mathematics and physical sciences into biology curriculums, an interdisciplinary course model in exercise science was designed to enable cooperative learning between undergraduate students at UG and SU. The course utilises new technologies, encourages the development of original research and relies on frequent self-assessment and reflective learning. Unlike previous RUN projects, this project involves students at an advanced level to create an even more exciting multidisciplinary virtual learning environment made up of physiotherapy, sport science, technology, medicine, health promotion and others. UG and SU believe that the outcomes of this collaboration will allow them to focus on the sustainability of the interdisciplinary ‘local’ course design through optimisation of technology, content and pedagogy over an additional year of funding. In addition to preparing a curriculum that can be exported to other universities, UG and SU will begin the natural expansion to a more global university curriculum focusing on applied kinesiology. The global pilot curriculum was tested from October to December 2009 with eight universities participating simultaneously.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Professor in English Language, Coventry University, UK
Coventry University and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) have established a project through PMI2 Connect. The project involves the recording, transcribing and analysing of lectures on similar topics delivered in the medium of English in Malaysia and the UK. Engineering has been chosen as the target discipline of this project because UTM and Coventry University are noted for their engineering programmes, and because engineering and technology have been found to be the subjects most frequently taught in the medium of English worldwide. Results from the project reveal marked variations in the type and range of vocabulary used, the style and pace of delivery, and the way in which key information is highlighted. There is also evidence to suggest that in Malaysia, where English has been adopted solely as a medium of instruction, the lectures lack many of the rapport-building features common in the UK. This poster will discuss the project and its results, featuring annotated excerpts from lecture transcripts and materials derived from the corpus findings for use in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and staff development programmes.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Education Consultant, CINOP, Netherlands
, Education Consultant, CINOP, Netherlands
Education consultants have examined incentives to make an international course more appealing to students in the VET sector. Why is it that vocational students are not standing in line to go abroad? Is it really a case of disinterest on their side or is there more to it? This poster will explore the drives for vocational students to choose an international course and the mismatch between their actual motivation and perceived motivation by teachers and coordinators. Despite the appreciation and stimulation in the Dutch VET sector by government, educational institutions and the labour market, student mobility is low. The VET sector is by far the largest sector but has a mobility percentage of only 0.5%. Students who are interested in an international experience tend to choose a neighbouring country or a country that they have visited on holiday. This poster will discuss research undertaken, and the conclusion that the reasons why students go abroad are not as teachers expect. For example, most teachers expect that a life changing experience is very important to the ‘personal development’ of the student, while the student actually has a different perspective: employability is more important to a student, as well as practical implications such as the possibility of a partner visiting. This poster will provide an enumeration of actual and perceived incentives, offering teachers and coordinators practical guidance on how to make an international course more appealing.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Lecturer in IT-enabled Management Systems Design, Brunel University, UK
, Web Developer, Brunel University, UK
A challenge facing many higher education institutions worldwide is how to encourage students from different backgrounds to take up international study. At Brunel University, this is the challenge of a web-developer developing web-based information systems for international students. While in the face of the worst recession in decades, countries are increasingly becoming isolationist, staff and student mobility has actually grown considerably over the past two decades. There are still great opportunities to reach out to many more groups that are hard to reach. This poster will discuss the development of Web-based Information Systems for the purpose of developing internationally appealing platforms, in order to encourage continued international student participation here at Brunel University. The Student Services department want to provide continuously better support for students whilst developing dynamic Web-based student services. Understanding how the department develops Web-based Information Systems, manages organisational change, increasing fast paced deadlines and Web-based aesthetics are all important in improving students’ mobility for today’s and tomorrow’s generations. Further identification of sudden or unexpected change within higher educational institution is examined in the study. Understanding this phenomenon can enhance academics, practitioners and the organisations’ ability to build applicable Web-based Information Systems to accommodate the demands placed by today’s International Students.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Programme Officer, University of California EAP London Study Centre, UK
This poster will discuss the University of California Education Abroad Programme in the UK and Ireland, and how students are supported throughout their exchange. Study abroad exchange programmes were established to bring diversity and greater choice to students. The number of University of California students going on study abroad programmes to the UK and Ireland has increased steadily over time, and the characteristics of students in these programmes now demonstrate a greater ethnic, national and academic diversity than ever before. Academic restrictions have been a key reason for students not participating in such programmes, as well as the more obvious reason of financial hardship. University of California has introduced various measures to encourage students from different academic backgrounds to apply and then to retain students in their study abroad programmes. This poster will discuss how students are supported throughout their exchange, academically and in other ways, the sources of this support and coordination of efforts between different stakeholders throughout the process.
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Co-Founder, Languagelab.com, UK
Does the digital era make student and staff mobility unnecessary? Staff mobility has made teaching available in places it otherwise was not, bringing English language training to people in the most remote and diverse locations around the globe. However, with the explosion of global communications, this can now be done to a much greater extent using the internet. Rich, engaging and real-time interaction is now possible online. As internet connectivity grows, so does the accessibility of good teaching. We are now seeing greater cultural awareness of more cultures in less time. Therefore, learning online may offer more benefits to the student than international travel. Online learning websites are now appearing around the world (many with millions of users and growing) and millions of Americans already paying to learn online. Considering the evidence, is the writing on the wall for student and staff mobility?
Download the poster image (pdf)
, Assistant Head, International Office, University of Hertfordshire, UK
University of Hertfordshire has widened exchange activity and is now offering shorter exchange periods to students. A number of summer schools have been set up with funding from the Prime Minister’s Initiative for International Education (PMI2): in Singapore in 2008, in Korea in 2009, and two planned summer schools in Singapore and Thailand in 2010. The university has set up this ‘Global College’ to grow student mobility so that all students at the university have the opportunity to add value to their education through international experience. Through a variety of study and work abroad opportunities, the Global College aims to create a community of incoming and outgoing exchange students who form friendships and contacts which they sustain beyond exchange and graduation for personal, educational and business purposes. The summer schools last for four weeks, giving participants a cultural, historical, economic, political and social insight into the country, as well as a study of the local language and study visits to companies, heritage sites and cultural events. University of Hertfordshire aims to make the existing summer schools sustainable and to develop further summer schools in other countries.
, Project Officer, University of Leeds, UK
Recruitment of international staff in UK Higher Education is rising. Research has shown that, in contrast to provision for international students, there is little formal or organised support for international staff. In addition to challenges faced in learning and teaching, such as language and teaching styles, support may be needed in dealing with personal matters, such as finding adequate accommodation and schooling for dependents. The innovative website - www.internationalstaff.ac.uk - is a one-stop shop support system, providing generic and HEI-specific information and guidance for international staff coming to teach and support student learning in the UK. The development and rollout of the site to other UK institutions is funded by the HEFCE ‘Leadership, Governance and Management’ fund over a period of 18 months to maximise its impact and value for non-UK staff. Subscription to the site allows location-specific, tailored content about an institution to be viewed by potential and current staff. Since its launch in 2007, the International Staff website has supported non-UK staff from all corners of the globe. Users have accessed information on everything from driving in the UK to getting to grips with the UK education system to running a seminar. The site has four subscribing institutions to date and feedback has been very positive.
Download the poster image (pdf)
| 
