Blend@UGent
Intensity
How?
Create interaction opportunities with 'cultural others' in the local community:
- implement more formal learning opportunities such as 'community research projects', during which students set up a (small-scale) research project in the local community. They preferably do so by means of interviews of focus group conversations with people from various backgrounds;
- organise excursions in the local environment to visit organisations, companies, museums, institutions ... with an international orientation or an intercultural approach;
- invite (local) people with various backgrounds to your classes and let them interact with your students on such topics as migration, globalsation, or the SDGs.
- if possible, call on the expertise of an international student association or a student association with a focus on diversty;
- ask students to design a poster and a presentation to share the findings of their community research project. Do not assess purely on contents (methodology, originality, community impact), but also take into account the poster's visual appeal, and the organisation and language use during the presentation. Invite the civilian participants to assess the students' communication skills vis-à-vis non-peers.
- reflective journal: invite students to write down their thoughts, ideas, and learning benifits after their social engagement, community research project or excursion; ;
- direct observation: ask the community service partner to observe the students and to assess their achievements in the group, e.g. by means of a rubric.
Assessment
Funding
Internationalisation@Home
Practical Examples
What?
Establish international and intercultural contacts by asking students to interact with people from various backgrounds ('cultural others') in the local community. It allows them to discover the effects of globalisation, migration and cultural diversity close to home.
Interaction with 'Cultural Others' in the Local Community
