More from behind the scenes at UC
“Our training team has been beavering away behind the scenes working on some new offerings,’ explains UNICollaboration’s Managing Director, Sara Pittarello. “We met over the summer, here in Padua, where we reflected, analysed and discussed what we thought was missing in the field of virtual exchange/coil, and what we could do to help fill the gaps.“
“All our trainers work in the field, so they really have their eye on the ball in terms of what’s needed!”
The gaps in virtual exchange/coil training
“In the aftermath of Covid, the field has changed enormously. More and more people are adopting and integrating aspects of VE/COIL in their institutions and ever more academics are familiar with the concept of this innovative pedagogy.
With this in mind, we are still offering our basic courses – our Introduction to Virtual Exchange and our more advanced Project Design.
And, it’s true to say that the goal of mainstreaming VE is really succeeding as we see this trend of trying to integrate VE into courses. Despite this, we believe that certain expertises and competencies are missing. This leads to some university staff struggling to adapt VE to their specific contexts.
Therefore, after much workshopping and deliberation, we have two new format offerings: masterclasses and modules.”
Masterclasses and Modules
Sara explains, “Masterclasses are more intensive and interactive with sessions lasting approximately two-and-a-half hours. We consider these to be advanced professional development units focusing on a specific topic. The goal for the participants is to come out with the knowledge, expertise, skills and strategies they need to implement and sustain VE.
“We’ve developed a series of virtual exchange masterclasses on 18 different topics. These include: how to plan the VE within a BIP successfully. This is significant because we know that BIPs are an opportunity to apply for funding. Unfortunately, we have noticed that the VE part often gets left behind. Because of this, we decided it was important to support the integration of VE and explore VE as a tool to digitalise joint programmes within European alliances.
“Accreditation and Assessment form the basis of another masterclass here at UNICollaboration, as we felt the micro-credential field required deeper understanding. You can do a masterclass or module on critical approaches to VE, or perhaps the issue of coloniality in VE. This is another one we see discussed a lot at the present time. We also include dialogue-based and challenge-based VE as well as AI in VE to name a few!
“Modules constitute a further development of masterclasses and include the same topics. We take the opportunity in the modules to go deeper and they last about four hours. You will have a hands-on opportunity to work with peers on concrete projects in these modules.
Please contact us for more information on training@unicollaboration.org or info@unicollaboration.org