Abstract
In alignment with CUHK’s vision in enhancing students’ global competitiveness, preparing them to be tomorrow’s citizens in the world, and supporting their academic curriculum (especially the internationalization of the curriculum) through non-formal education and independent learning via a series of online modules, the proposed project Interacting Across Cultures - Home and Abroad (IACHA) aims to:
- provide outgoing exchange students with cultural support for their overseas exchange, stay or/ and internship;
- prepare non-local degree seeking* and incoming exchange students to more easily adjust to the academic culture at CUHK and community in Hong Kong; and
- enhance CUHK students’ overall intercultural competence and preparedness for a globalized world within an increasingly internationalized campus
The current proposal builds on our experience in developing the Interacting Across Cultures (IAC)** and based on the student feedback from our IAC pilot study with various groups of outgoing (exchange) students (including outgoing exchange students from C.W. Chu College, outgoing students to Edinburgh & Oxford from United College during summer as well as students from the Faculty of Education going to York, UK) in Semester II, 2016-2017. The Independent Learning Centre (ILC), therefore, proposes to further expand and extend the IAC to provide not only more support to outgoing (exchange) students, but also support to non-local degree seeking* and incoming exchange students in developing their intercultural competencies, promoting cultural integration, and energizing the CUHK campus through internationalization at home via a series of online independent learning modules -- IACHA.
- Non-local degree seeking students in this project refer to both students from Mainland China as well as those from countries beyond HK.
- The five IAC online learning modules already developed and piloted are: (1) Cultural differences; (2) Communication styles; (3) Achieving your goals; (4) Culture shock and other obstacles; and (5) How to make sense of the experience.
Brief write-up
Project objectives
In alignment with CUHK’s vision in enhancing our students’ global competitiveness, preparing them to be tomorrow’s citizens in the world, and supporting their academic curriculum (especially the internationalization of the curriculum) through non-formal education and independent learning, the Interacting Across Cultures - Home and Abroad (IACHA), which is a series of online learning modules, aims to: (1) provide outgoing exchange students with support before/ during/ and after their overseas exchange, stay or/ and internship; (2) prepare non-local degree seeking and incoming exchange students to adjust to the academic culture at CUHK and the community in Hong Kong more easily prior to their arrival; and (3) enhance CUHK students’ overall intercultural competence and preparedness for a globalized workforce upon graduation.
Activities, process and outcomes, and deliverables and evaluation
Interacting Across Cultures - Home and Abroad (IACHA) includes a total of 10 online micro-learning modules: (1) Cultural Differences; (2) Communication Styles; (3) Achieving your Goals; (4) Culture Shock and Other Obstacles: and (5) How to Make Sense of the Experience; (6) Measuring your Cultural Intelligence; (7) Welcome to Hong Kong; (8) Academic Interactions Across Cultures; (9) Cross-cultural Communication in the Workplace; and (10) Best Cultural Practices - Interviews with international students, teachers, and administrative staff are presented in a video.
CUHK users can log in via the following link using their student/ staff ID and OnePass password: https://www.ilc.cuhk.edu.hk/go/IAC
A short video introducing the IACHA will be produced.
Evaluation is conducted via the online user feedback forms at the end of each micro module. Students’ submissions, for example, about goal setting before departure (module 3), anticipated intercultural obstacles (module 4), and their reflection upon returning to CUHK (module 5) are also considered.
Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices
The Interacting Across Cultures series has been promoted among students via face-to-face course/ programme sessions, summer/ term-time exchange pre-departure briefings organized by the Office of Academic Links, Office of Student Affairs, the University Library facebook page, as well as the Independent Learning Centre website. Results of the pilot study are presented in the Independent Learning Centre meeting, CUHK Teaching & Learning Expo, and an international conference.
