IMPROVE Toolkit

Interculturality in Mobility PROgrams through Virtual Environments (COIL and BIP) IMPROVE

Interactive Toolkit

Start

Structure of the Toolkit

Survey

Project scope

Key concepts

Recommendations

Mapping

Activity

Project scope

• Globally connected work and learning environments
• Online and blended learning programmes: Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and Blended Intensive Programs (Erasmus+ BIP)
• International, interdisciplinary collaboration: ideal venue for Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) development
• Rarely addressed systematically in these programs → expected to develop incidentally through students’ experience.

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Our Team

We are a team from diferent universities that have come along to create this investigation project about ICC. We are from three different universities and you can find out more information about the project in our website!

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TEAM

T.I.M.E. Association

The Universities

Key concepts

What's BIP?

What's ICC?

What's COIL?

Research objectives and data

MAPPING of ICC in BIP and COIL courses

How is ICC addressed in BIP and COIL courses?

SURVEY for lecturers and course designers: ICC in virtual and blended engineering courses

Overview of our research

HOW IS ICC ADDRESSED IN BIP AND COIL COURSES?

Good practices

Survey

Mapping

for lecturers and course designers: ICC in virtual and blended courses in engineering.

and recommendations from the results of our investigation.

of ICC in BIP and COIL courses.

Mapping

The following mindmap shows a shared understanding of ICC based on the course descriptions analysed.

• International learning happens through collaboration, not just through theoretical input.

• Interculturality is equated with internationality.

73%

88%

70%

of courses do not include ICC.

of the courses analysed are BIPs.

of the courses are offered by networks or alliances.

Our survey

Most common disciplines in BIP and COIL

What do you understand by ICC in academic and professional settings?

95%

75%

4.3/5

of participants think that students' ICC improved thanks to their international course.

of participants think that it's very important for graduates to be able to navigate or mediate misunderstandings in culturally diverse teams.

Participants think that ICC is very important in engineering education.

Good Practices and needs

Recommendations

Practical implications... for integrating ICC in BIP and COIL

Make intercultural learning explicit and intentionalDesign structured, meaningful collaboration

• Shift the focus → From “exposure to other cultures” to reflection on unfamiliarity.
• Design for uncertainty → Include tasks with no clear right answer.
• Use ambiguous case studies or dilemmas.
• Make communication explicit → Integrate guided dialogue formats (e.g., reflection prompts, peer discussions).
• Foster reflexivity → Ask students to reflect on their own assumptions of “normal”.
• Use diverse group work intentionally → Not just mixing nationalities, but structuring interaction and negotiation.
• Assess process, not just outcome → Evaluate how students deal with ambiguity and negotiate meaning.
• Promote respectful communication → Sensitize students to appreciative communication practices → Aim at building sustainable relationships across differences.
• Be ready to mediate in case of tension or friction among members in a group.

Practical implications... for designing tasks that promote ICC through collaboration

• Joint problem-solving tasks → Students from different countries work on shared challenges
• Mixed international group projects → Small groups with clear interdependence
• Peer feedback and reflection → Structured reflection on different perspectives
• Collaborative case studies → Comparing national or institutional contexts

TakeawayDesign collaboration — don’t assume intercultural learning will happen automatically.

Practical implications... for rethinking the role of language in BIPs and COILs

The functional role of English is undisputed. However, Language is not neutral → It carries implicit concepts and worldviews, where meaning may be simplified, distorted, or misunderstood. Linguistic dominance can obscure diversity and European multilingual identity.

Practical Tips

• Make language visible → Explicitly address the role of English as a working language.
• Disrupt the “English-only default” → Integrate moments where other languages are welcomed or required.
• Use multilingual tasks → Compare key concepts across languages → Highlight untranslatable or culturally specific terms.
• Encourage linguistic reflection → Ask: What gets lost or changed when we use English?
• Value linguistic diversity → Legitimize flexible language use in discussions and outputs.
• Build tolerance for not understanding everything → Create situations where not all participants understand all languages → Encourage students to navigate and tolerate temporary exclusion.
• Design for inclusion, not just efficiency → Slow down communication where needed → Create space for clarification and negotiation of meaning.
• Link language to identity and power → Reflect on whose voices are amplified or silenced through English.

Our PerspectiveLanguage shapes what is: thinkable expressible negotiable Intercultural learning requires awareness of linguistic framing, not just communication efficiency

BIP and COIL Resources

If you need resources about BIP, COIL, ICC or related themes, you can check our recap clicking on the image.

References

• Bolten, J. (2020): ‘Rethinking intercultural competence’, in: Rings, G. & Rasinger, S. (eds.): The Cambridge Handbook of Intercultural Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 56–67.

• O’Dowd, R. (2023) Internationalising Higher Education and the Role of Virtual Exchange. Routledge

• Taylor, C., Woodman, M.W., Glass, Ch. (2024). Digital Internationalization in Higher Education. Routledge.

VIDEO

Fred Dervin's Talk

Watch Fred Dervin’s talk, and then answer these questions. Please consider how these theories apply to your current international context.

02:30

You'll have this time to answer

SHORT QUIZ ABOUT BIP AND COIL

Click on the wheel to see which category will you answer. Decide if you bet 1, 2 or 3 points. If you answer correctly you'll win the points, but if you fail, you will lose that amount of points. ¡Don't forget to write down how many points you get, and be careful with the time limit!

¡Let's start!

02:30

IMPROVE PROJECT

INTERNATIONAL ExCHANGE

Setting up a bip or coil

COIL

BIP

ICC

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Roll the wheel!

SCORE

What score did you get?

Less than 5 points

Between 5 & 10 points

Between 10 & 20 points

More than 20 Points

If you want to find out more about the project go to our website!

INternational exchange

COIL

88% of the analysed formats are BIPs.

BIPs are usually listed and appear in university websites. COIL courses are more difficult to locate. They should be made more visible.

IMPROVE PROJECT

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Congratulations! You understood it perfectly!

More than 20 points

Less than 5 points

😓

Well, it's a first try! You can explore our web, or have a look at the resources posted here!

IMPROVE PROJECT

ICC

15. How important are the following skills for your graduates? [Ability to navigate or mediate misunderstandings in culturally diverse teams]

IMPROVE PROJECT

BIP

Setting up a bip or coil

In your view, did your students improve their ICC as a result of participating in your international online/blended course?

INTERNATIONAL Exchange

INTernational exchange

COIL

73% of courses do not include ICC

Although ICC does not form part of the objectives or learning outcomes of BIP and COIL, interculturality is referred to in the website or "branding" of the course.

COIL

ICC

BIP

BIP

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¡Well done! You understood almost everything, but got an answer wrong or got scared to bet lots of points...

Between 10 & 20 points

Setting up a bip or coil

SEtting up a bip or coil

time's up!

You can see the score in the next slide!

SCORE

What's BIP?

BIP stands for Blended Intensive Programs

"They are short, intensive programmes that use innovative ways of learning and teaching, including the use of online cooperation. The programmes may include challenge based learning where transnational and transdisciplinary teams work together."

https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/display/NAITDOC/Blended+Intensive+Programmes

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Between 5 & 10 points

¡You are well headed! But there's still for IMPROVEment :)

70% of the courses are imparted by alliances or networks

If you are planning to design a BIP or COIL, make the most of the networks your institution forms part of. They provide know-how and a good basis to start.

ICC

Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC)

We speak of a transfer competence. Actors are able to endure ambivalence and uncertainty. They can negotiate a new culturality aimed at sustainable relationships together with interaction partners. Intercultural competence manifests itself in communication (cf. Bolten, 2020).

What's COIL?

COIL stands for Collaborative Online International Learning

“The common element to these various pedagogical practices is structured, teacher-led online collaboration between two or more geographically distant, usually culturally and/or linguistically distinct groups of learners, with a view to promoting various combinations of linguistic, intercultural, and content skills and knowledge, as well as transversal competences such as digital literacies and intercultural teamwork”.

https://www.eaie.org/resource/cross-boundary-collaboration-coil.html

What do you understand by ICC in academic and professional settings?

Disciplines

Our Broader Understanding of Interculturality (Bolten, 2020)

• Intercultural situations arise from unfamiliarity and uncertainty.
• They occur when shared assumptions about what is normal, plausible, or relevant break down
• Not limited to international contexts

Intercultural Competence Means

• Tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty
• Engaging in constructive, respectful negotiation of meaning
• Co-creating a new understanding of “normal”
• Communication is key