Tales of Tomorrow: Decoding Cultures for High Community Impact

It is profoundly affirming to watch students embrace intellectual risks, connect theory with practice, and view the world with fresh eyes from an unfamiliar point of view. But these transformative moments are not always facilitated through traditional university departments or programs, or even traditional coursework. Some rely on new initiatives that aim to connect students with engaging, multi-disciplinary learning opportunities and real-world problems—both locally and internationally.

While the specific focus and goals of these programs vary, they often share a few common features: they provide bespoke projects to a small cohort; they cultivate an intellectually engaged teaching and learning community across the globe, beyond the length of a traditional semester; and they connect classroom learning with meaningful, real-world problems such as the UN’s global megatrends that shape the world. By implementing high-impact international experiences linking classroom learning with collaborative research, opportunities like these provide an optimistic glimpse into what education in the 21st century needs to be.

But these programs are not without challenges. For example: How do we align international institutional missions and the demographics of the wider university, not to mention opposing semester calendars and time zones? How do we engage with industry and community partners in the respective countries? How do we bridge global data practices and governmental policies in times of AI and ChatGPT? And what happens when students are disturbed and distressed by the “real world” they encounter, in addition to the cultural differences, perhaps for the first time?

This session will explore the strengths and challenges of these new, innovative educational practices while providing attendees the chance to connect and build new ones together.