Carrie Martins serves as the Co-ordinator of faculty development initiatives in the Office of Global Learning at the University of Florida in the US.
She manages and supports virtual exchange/COIL initiatives at her institution, a role she’s held for the past three years.
Success story using UNICollaboration’s Partnering Tool
Carrie has used our tool on the website quite successfully a number of times and she’s found it a very helpful and useful resource.
“In general, I think partnering platforms offered through international virtual exchange networks are a really important resource. They allow you to advertise to a wider audience and perhaps even a new audience.
Obviously, they are particularly important when you get started as an institution or a professor, to help grow your network.”
Carrie says it’s still invaluable to use these resources even once you are established as you can continue to grow your network and make ‘creative connections.’
She explains how a particular success story using the UNICollaboration tool evolved.
“I made a post and an instructor reached out and we were able to move forward with our collaboration. It’s a really creative one, which I was very happy about, and concerned sustainability and health.
This project has been implemented multiple times now, and it worked out wonderfully! We were perfectly matched and in different geographical locations. That is the beauty of using these platforms, as you never know who you will meet and what might come out of the connection.”
Niggles in the tool
Carrie points out that although the tool is great for posting and reaching out, it can take an awfully long time to hear back after posting a proposal. Also you need to be a member of UNICollaboration to be able to use the tool.
“Many partnering platforms struggle with the amount of traffic they get. This means it may take a very long time to find your perfect match. But on the other hand, it’s also a challenge for all of us as the field is growing. Hopefully things will continue to improve.”
Carrie notes that she is lucky in her institution because her role as virtual exchange coordinator means she can spend time seeking out ways to help educators find partners.
“I can dedicate time and resources to this in my role. There is only so much time an individual professor can spend reaching out so that’s where I can be useful. It’s a way we can work together to build connections and help get the word out.”
The role of the Partnering Fair
Carrie attends our UC Partnering Fairs on a regular basis. She finds that this, combined with the tool is a really useful way to proceed.
“I believe they’re both wonderful resources as the fair can boost your chances of finding a match. If you’re a bit stuck waiting for an answer to the post, you can attend the fair and from the registration list that’s shared beforehand you can judge if it will be useful to attend.
But also, don’t rely on the list alone, because I’ve found when you actually attend the event and begin talking to people, that is where the magic happens and you begin to see connections and possibilities developing from your conversations. There have been times that I probably wouldn’t have reached out just from the information I read on the registration form, but when meeting others, things began to fall into place.”
Carrie says she always points out to the professors she is supporting that it takes time to find suitable partners and it’s not an immediate fix. You need patience and an open mind.
UNICollaboration hosts a summer and winter partnering fair. Normally in June and December. Carrie agrees summer is a great time and hosting two a year is a good number. Any less and professors would surely miss out on opportunities.
She says that having training in virtual exchange, combined with the fair and the tool are essential resources for successful collaborations.
“These are your building blocks to success in VE/COIL.”
Tips and Other useful resources
Carrie also posts on the COIL Connect for Virtual Exchange platform as well as our UC one, for maximum impact, as well as building up her own institutional contact list and network over time. For her institution, the Latin American COIL Network is also useful.
“One thing I’d like to point out that could be really useful is for professors and those who post a proposal to go back and keep them updated. Often, I see on the platforms that the dates have passed, but they are still seeking. So, I don’t know if I should reach out or not as the date has passed.
I’d say if you are able to go back and keep the proposal updated, it would increase the likelihood of someone responding if they knew the status of the request. This greatly improves your chances of finding the right match.”