Julia Loepke is a German student doing a Masters’ in Organisational Psychology at the University of Bochum (Ruhr-Universität Bochum). She recently spent a semester abroad in Italy, and prior to this, undertook a virtual exchange in preparation.
The Arqus Alliance Moves project is an initiative for students from all the world, and the letter V and E in MOVES stand for Virtual Exchange. Students from as far away as Mexico and India take part, which, for Julia, made for interesting open dialogues each week.
In groups, they discussed topics such as food and traditions progressing to global issues such as climate change and how we deal with failure. Topics were far reaching and diverse with students working on them on multiple levels.
Experience and Impact of the Arqus Alliance VE
Students needed to achieve 85% attendance at the weekly discussions to obtain their credits. Julia explains that the same session was offered several times a week to ensure students from different time zones had an opportunity to attend.
“We met via zoom and there could be anything from 15-50 students. This varied each session, but we always had a tutor and a facilitator. I found this really helpful and a refreshing way of teaching and learning,” she says.
The tutor gave initial inspiration for the dialogue and then the participants were encouraged to develop and deepen the conversation among themselves.
Breakout rooms came in handy, especially for students who felt shy in plenary as they relaxed in a smaller group and were less self conscious about their language speaking skills.
“In the beginning we all felt nervous meeting new people for the first time. None of us felt confident about our speaking skills. Plus it was a strange experience to meet all these people from all over the world with different levels of English and all the other languages involved.
But the facilitator and the tutor made sure the space felt safe and personal and relaxed. This really helped me to feel more confident about what I could contribute to the discussions.”
It was important that the tutors gave students adequate time to get to know each other. They used a variety of tools and activities to achieve a more relaxed atmosphere. Julia says this aspect made it easier for the discussions to progress to a deeper more intense level.
Skills gained after experience the virtual exchange
Although she felt a bit nervous before leaving for her semester abroad in Italy, the virtual exchange was an opportunity to prepare. “Some students were preparing to go, like me, others were already abroad when they took part and some had already returned home. So, it didn’t matter at what level you were.
Motivation was the only necessity. For me, the VE was a way to practice my speaking skills before leaving. I have to say that it worked for me.”
In terms of skills gained, taking part in the VE gave her the confidence to not worry about making mistakes when speaking another language. “I considered myself already open minded about cultures and traditions, so I thought the VE would suit me.
But, what I didn’t expect was that there would be so much more to learn. I knew a bit about the topics, but there were so many other perspectives that I hadn’t considered before. Because of this, there was always more to learn. That’s how exchange works I think. Talking to peers broadens the mind.”
After the virtual exchange
Julia met another Italian student online during the exchange programme, and they have kept in touch beyond the confines of the project. Although they have not yet managed to meet up in person, they meet regularly online to speak Italian and German and practice together.
“I’m so happy to know that relationships can go beyond the exchange itself,” smiles Julia.
Learning beyond the virtual exchange
“I was already interested in culture and travel and this experience has made me more confident when talking to international peers. I really appreciated the peer-to-peer learning, moving away from the top down traditional learning model from tutor to student. I learned so much from their other students and their disciplines and topics of interest. I know I can still learn from peers – always – no matter what.
That was a precious thing I learned and I will take this with me in the future. It was my epiphany along the way!”
Julia also appreciated the opportunity to use other languages even though English was lingua franca for the virtual exchange. She says they were all encouraged to make use of the breakout sessions to join groups where other languages were being used and this was great fun too.
Advice to others
“Just go for it!, she says. “Others are nervous too. After participating in the virtual exchange as a student, I was invited to return to the project as a tutor as well. In this way, I experienced both sides and realised that everyone is nervous in the beginning. But I also noted that no one is judging and we are all in the same boat. Just try!”
“I loved being a participant, so I volunteered as a tutor. It was so enriching and I observed and reflected on the topics multiple times.“
Julia stresses that her stint as a tutor was enriching. Her tutor invited her to take on this volunteer role and she jumped at the chance!
“Every time the experience was different in spite of discussing the same thing! Each of my three sessions a week was different as the students were different and they had such diverse perspectives. The thoughts and input were fantastic.”