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Why COIL Virtual Exchange Matters
Outbound mobility is a luxury that most students are unable to afford, but through what is known as Collaborative Online Intercultural/International Learning (COIL) Virtual Exchange (VE), institutions can create intercultural educational opportunities that are inclusive, accessible, and sustainable to all. COIL-VE is an approach to fostering global competence through the development of a multicultural learning environment that links classes in different countries.
In this session, we examine how a partnership between Langara College in Canada and Lovely Professional University in India enables inclusive and sustainable educational opportunities for all students, as well as professional development for faculty. We will look at how the partnership grew from Langara’s Centre for Intercultural Engagement and Internationalization and led to faculty collaboration when COIL faculty matches were formalized. How faculty members began attending workshops together to learn and formulate their projects, and how class projects were consequently designed to develop equitable intercultural learning outcomes for students as well as professional development for faculty.
A key takeaway from this session includes practical steps to developing partnerships that go beyond physical mobility to eliminate economic inequalities between students and educational systems. A Q&A will follow.
Presenters
Dr. Manu Sharma, Professor and Head, Department of History, Lovely Professional University (LPU)
At LPU, Manu is the Academic Operation Coordinator of Distance Education. She has previously worked as a nominee with the Division of Academic Affairs and as an Academic Operational Coordinator for the School of Education, School of Physical Education and School of Social Sciences and Languages. With several professional honours and awards, Manu’s experience spans international and national collaborations in academics, museum set-up, promotion of cultural heritage and organizing different workshops, webinars, and other professional and academic work in her domain.
Ms. Supriya Mathew, Associate Director, Division of International Affairs, Lovely Professional University
Supriya is an international higher educational leader and strategist. With an education career spanning 14 years, Supriya has partnered with more than 300 universities internationally and set up international offices for two organizations, including the department of International Credit Transfer Pathway in LPU with more than 50 successful pathways for students going to 26 different universities.
Dr. Avram Agov, Faculty Member, Asian Studies Department, Langara College
Avram completed his PhD at the University of British Columbia. Some of his published articles are include “North Korea: The Far Eastern Frontier of the Socialist World,” Journal of American-East Asian Relations, 24 (2017) and “North Korea’s Alliances and the Unfinished Korean War,” The Journal of Korean Studies Volume 18 no. 2 (Fall 2013). He is currently working on a manuscript entitled, “North Korea in the Socialist World, 1945-1961.”
Dr. Natasha Mrkic-Subotic, Intercultural Engagement Consultant and Faculty Member, Langara College
Natasha’s diverse background includes 25 years of combined local and international experience in marketing, strategic partnership development, and education. Key components of her work include fostering intercultural engagement among faculty, staff, and students; supporting the work of decolonization, JEDI, and anti-racism; initiating and developing opportunities for global engagement; and bridging differences between cultures and worldviews. Natasha is an academic and scientific committee organizing member at the Athens Institute for Education and Research (Greece) and her research interests include academic innovation, academic capitalism, career development, internationalization, leadership, and the corporatization and globalization of post-secondary education.
For more information, please contact events@bccie.bc.ca.