A natural pathĪn increase in distance learning programmes, e-learning, virtual mobility and remote internships seems to be part of a response to the conditions of COVID-19, but this context is just pushing institutions towards a natural path that they were previously reluctant to agree on. Virtual mobility is only possible if institutions are committed to implementing it. Moreover, the pandemic is pushing higher education institutions to move forward with the aim of establishing new agreements that can include virtual mobility and Collaborative Online International Learning, therefore diversifying their offer to students who want to get an international experience from home. The democratisation of higher education is relatively new, particularly in regions outside Europe where, because of different state decisions, physical mobility is less easy for students in difficult socio-economic conditions.Īcknowledging these inequalities is important, and it is a sign of progress that alternatives to physical mobility have become more prevalent since the outbreak of the coronavirus. Unfortunately, not every student has access to an international experience.
Image bucket of corona professional#
Today, it is hard to envisage starting a professional career without having some international experience it seems that, in an interconnected world, intercultural skills are required to get a good job, and companies are searching not only for technical expertise but also for soft skills: adaptability, openness, flexibility, teamwork, management and leadership are some of the skills needed to enter the global job market.īut the idea that all students can experience the positive aspects of international mobility and gain international work experience is a fallacy. Students have an enormous variety of possibilities to choose from. A huge variety of other programmes offer study mobility, volunteering mobility and exchange internships, managed by universities, non-governmental organisations, non-profit associations or private institutions. One of the world’s biggest exchange programmes, Erasmus, has contributed to this physical mobility for more than 30 years, with over nine million students benefiting. The pandemic has heavily affected physical mobility, which is what we tend to envision when discussing internationalisation: students travelling the world. In the case of internationalisation, we are called to react not by donating but by diversifying how we perceive international mobility. The image of throwing a bucket of ice water over the head represents a wake-up call, and parallels can be made with how the world is reacting to the pandemic. Remember the ice bucket challenge? This was created some years ago to increase awareness of motor neuron disease, with the aim of encouraging donations for research.
0 kommentar(er)
