Colloquium:
Facilitating Students’ Intercultural Learning through Study Abroad Programs
14 and 15 April 2016 at the University of Bern
Call for Papers: Posters
The University of Bern (Switzerland) and the University of Technology Sydney
(Australia) are collaborators on a research project investigating methods for facilitating
university students’ intercultural learning through study abroad programs. The project
which will run from 2016-17 is titled ‘MILSA’ (‘Mentoring Intercultural Learning through
Study Abroad’ or ‘Mentoringprogramm für interkulturelles Lernen während des
studentischen Auslandaufenthalts’) and is supported by the Mercator Foundation
Switzerland, the International Office of the University of Bern and the Faculty of Arts
and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney.
The project aims to understand how we as educators and program administrators can
maximise the opportunities afforded by study abroad programs to facilitate student
intercultural learning. One of the first activities of the project is a research colloquium to
be held on 14 and 15 April 2016 in Bern to bring together experts working in the area of
intercultural learning in study abroad. We are pleased to welcome Jane Jackson from
the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Fred Dervin from the University of Helsinki
as confirmed plenary speakers, as well Josep-Maria Cots, University of Lleida; Mirjam
Egli Cuenat, University of Teacher Education St. Gallen; Sybille Heinzmann,
University of Teacher Education Lucerne; Susan Oguro, University of Technology
Sydney; Hiroshi Ota, Hitotsubashi University, Elspeth Jones, Emerita Professor
Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds, Grant Douglas, IESG School of Management,
Lille, as our confirmed invited speakers.
The colloquium will explore current practices and directions from a range of
international contexts and perspectives and will inform and guide the direction of the
MILSA project over the next two years. The colloquium also provides an opportunity to
scope an edited monograph.
The colloquium will provide opportunities to not only discuss educational models and
teaching practices but also to explore theoretical perspectives. Posters should address
one or more of the following areas:
•
Ways to mentor students’ intercultural learning in study abroad programs (predeparture and/or during exchange and/or post-sojourn)
Experiences with technical tools for mentoring students during study abroad
(chatrooms, learning platforms etc.)
Ways of supporting students to reflect on and articulate their study abroad
insights in sophisticated ways (that is, encouraging students to move beyond
superficial reporting).
Ways to explicitly link study abroad program/experiences to graduate
attributes and careers
Defining the parameters of intercultural competences for specific study abroad
•
programs
Ways of evaluating links between interculturality and study abroad programs
•
•
•
•
There will be one poster session per day where presenters can discuss their work with
individual listeners.
Candidates are asked to email their poster title and an abstract of approximately
250 words to kathrin.beeler@int.unibe.ch by 29 March 2016. Notification of
acceptance will be given within three days of the deadline. For liaison on travel and
accommodation matters, please contact kathrin.beeler@int.unibe.ch and/or consult our
website www.milsa.unibe.ch.
In particular, we would like to encourage young researchers to submit abstracts. We
look forward to your submissions and to meeting you at the Colloquium. Please do not
hesitate to get in touch with any queries.
The MILSA project team:
Dr. Susan Oguro: Scientific Director susan.oguro@uts.edu.au
Dr. Ellen Krause: Project Director ellen.krause@int.unibe.ch
Dr. des. Annie Cottier: Project Manager annie.cottier@int.unibe.ch
Kathrin Beeler, B.A.: Project Assistant kathrin.beeler@int.unibe.ch