Hochschuldidaktik

Collaborative international online learning: methods and concepts for designing a virtual exchange (A/B/F)


Dates and work units: 16 WU

  • Wed, 26.11.2025, 9:30 – 12:30 o'clock online and self-study time
  • Wed, 10.12.2025, 9:00 – 13:00 o'clock online and self-study time
  • Wed, 14.01.2026, 9:00 – 13:00 o'clock online



Registration:
Please register until Wed, 12.11.2025.
Later registrations may not be taken into account.

This workshop is open for participants from three ENLIGHT-universities: Ghent University (Belgium), Uppsala University (Sweden), and Göttingen University.
There is no participation fee for this workshop.

Content:
Video conference rooms and (a)synchronous communication platforms can do much more than simply allow us to transfer our teaching into virtual spaces – they open up new ways to enrich our courses and expand the learning experiences of our students (and ourselves as teachers). One example is the opportunity to connect and collaborate with colleagues and students from other universities. This can take the form of a joint classroom, virtual exchange, or Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).
At the heart of all these formats is structured collaboration between academic staff and students at two or more institutions. This collaboration takes place within the framework of an existing course and is made possible by digital media. Beyond the subject matter itself, students can benefit greatly from these formats: they can practice working in intercultural and virtual teams, gain new perspectives on their field of study, and deepen their understanding of complex topics through exchange and collaboration. Importantly, academic teachers also benefit by sharing expertise, new ideas, and diverse perspectives on course design and delivery.
This workshop will help you discover and understand the added value that virtual exchange formats such as COIL can bring to your own teaching. You will gain first-hand experience of working in a joint classroom together with colleagues from two of our ENLIGHT partners: Ghent University (Belgium) and Uppsala University (Sweden). Together, we will explore what conditions are needed to successfully integrate virtual exchange into your course, and we will discuss the challenges (your) students may face – and how to address them. By the end of the workshop, you will be familiar with practical tools and strategies for designing, planning and running your own COIL, joint classroom or virtual exchange. You will have had the chance to test some of these ideas in practice, laying the groundwork for implementing meaningful cross-institutional and international collaboration in your own courses.


Learning objectives:
In this course, participants have a chance to

  • become familiar with the different phases of a virtual exchange by discussing and documenting ideas for designing their own joint teaching initiative;
  • experience, based on their participation in this course together with colleagues from Ghent and Uppsala, where possible hurdles may lie for their future students and to developed strategies to prevent these in their own virtual exchange;
  • name relevant aspects for the preparation and implementation of virtual exchange in their own teaching contexts and evaluate their influence on their course design.



Venue:
Online: you will receive information on the meeting details before the workshop.

Used methods:

  • Input
  • individual and group work phases
  • reflection



Course Language: English

Facilitator:
Dr. Tanja Reiffenrath: is member of Student and Academic Services, Internationalisation of Curricula & ENLIGHT Network coordinator.

Dr. Angelika Thielsch: is member of the section for teaching and learning in higher education, member of Student and Academic Services and member of the ENLIGHT teaching and learning expert network.