Characteristics
- Course: Intercultural skills
- Programme: Bachelor's programme in Business Administration
- Group size: 30 students
- Study load: 6 EC
- Year: third-year Bachelor's students
Course description
The course aims to develop attitudes, skills, and knowledge that constitute intercultural competence (Deardorff, 2004), such as cultural (self-)awareness, observation and listening skills, communication skills, perspective-taking, analysing intercultural interactions and bridging cultures. The course design was informed by experiential learning theory, project-based education and Vromans’ PhD research on intercultural learning. The course develops intercultural competence by facilitating intercultural contact through class activities and discussions, utilising the diversity in the group for intercultural learning, and stimulating learning from experimentation with and reflection on intercultural experiences. Therefore, the seminars consist of interactive skill-building activities, and students work in multicultural project teams and build a portfolio of individual assignments. In addition, the projects focus on international and diversity challenges using insights from both research and practice. A blended learning tool, Cultural Detective, is used instead of a textbook.
The aim was for students to benefit more from the increasing diversity at the UvA and facilitate the process of cultivating their intercultural experiences into transferable skills, fostering their sustainable employability in the globalised economy.Pauline Vromans