Enhancing Intercultural Competence among CUHK Students through a Series of Online Learning Modules
"Interacting Across Cultures − Home and Abroad" (IACHA)
Principal Supervisors

Dr. Yvonne Loong
(Independent Learning Centre)

Duration

1 year and 6 months

Approved Budget

HK $85,000

 
  • Abstract
  • Brief write-up
  • Video Report

Abstract

In alignment with CUHK’s vision in enhancing students’ global competitiveness, preparing them to be tomorrow’s citizens in the world, and supporting their academic curriculum (especially the internationalization of the curriculum) through non-formal education and independent learning via a series of online modules, the proposed project Interacting Across Cultures - Home and Abroad (IACHA) aims to:

  • provide outgoing exchange students with cultural support for their overseas exchange, stay or/ and internship;
  • prepare non-local degree seeking* and incoming exchange students to more easily adjust to the academic culture at CUHK and community in Hong Kong; and
  • enhance CUHK students’ overall intercultural competence and preparedness for a globalized world within an increasingly internationalized campus
The current proposal builds on our experience in developing the Interacting Across Cultures (IAC)** and based on the student feedback from our IAC pilot study with various groups of outgoing (exchange) students (including outgoing exchange students from C.W. Chu College, outgoing students to Edinburgh & Oxford from United College during summer as well as students from the Faculty of Education going to York, UK) in Semester II, 2016-2017. The Independent Learning Centre (ILC), therefore, proposes to further expand and extend the IAC to provide not only more support to outgoing (exchange) students, but also support to non-local degree seeking* and incoming exchange students in developing their intercultural competencies, promoting cultural integration, and energizing the CUHK campus through internationalization at home via a series of online independent learning modules -- IACHA.
  • Non-local degree seeking students in this project refer to both students from Mainland China as well as those from countries beyond HK.
  • The five IAC online learning modules already developed and piloted are: (1) Cultural differences; (2) Communication styles; (3) Achieving your goals; (4) Culture shock and other obstacles; and (5) How to make sense of the experience.