Development of cross-cultural competence of
engineering students as one of the key factors of
academic and labor mobility
Inna M. Gorodetskaya, Farida T. Shageeva
Vasil Yu. Khramov
Department of Engineering Education and Psychology
Kazan National Research Technological University
Kazan, Russia
innamgor@mail.ru, faridash@bk.ru
Department of Management and Automation
Kazan National Research Technological University
Kazan, Russia
dreit@hotmail.ru
Abstract— The paper addresses cross-cultural competence
of the future engineers in the context of their mobility
possibilities. The following issues are discussed: concept,
structure and research methodology of cross-cultural and
communicative competences; readiness for academic
mobility and mobility challenges; experience of the Kazan
National Research Technological University (Russia) in
cross-cultural competence development and mobility
programs. Cross-cultural competence is studied in the
interrelation of its motivational, cognitive, personal, and
communicative/behavioral components. National Research
Universities in Russia intensify efforts to integrate into the
global academic environment. The main challenges
regarding mobility are second language fluency and crosscultural competence. In this paper we introduce crosscultural training course aimed at the development of crosscultural competence. The empiric study is presented to
prove the course efficiency.
Keywords— academic mobility, cross-cultural competence,
communicative competence
I.
INTRODUCTION
Globalization is one of the key peculiarities of today’s postindustrial world. Global communication, economical and
social contacts foster interest in national cultures and diversity.
National boundaries become more transparent. On the sociopsychological level this process is revealed in the huge amount
of inter-ethnic contacts.
In the knowledge based economy professional education
becomes one of the main national values. Professional talent
becomes more and more mobile and researchers observe
increasing labour and academic mobility [1], [2], [3], [4].
Growing social significance of highly qualified professionals
in the modern global innovation context require university
graduates to be flexible and adaptive, to have open mind and
be ready for innovations. Besides, he or she should be able to
integrate into global professional network and to communicate
with colleagues all over the world. Development of academic
mobility of students and labour mobility of faculty staff as one
of the tools of Bologna process creates definite advantages for
educational system and for the global labour market.
Ch. Tauch in Trends IV emphasizes that mobility of
students and academic and administrative staff is the basis for
establishing a European Higher Education Area. Governments
fully understand its importance for academic and cultural as
well as political, social and economic spheres [5].
Philip G. Altbach, Liz Reisberg, Laura E. Rumbley
outlining the trends in global higher education define
globalization as “the reality shaped by an increasingly
integrated world economy, new information and
communications technology (ICT), the emergence of an
international knowledge network, the role of the English
language, and other forces beyond the control of academic
institutions” [1]. Universities implement a wide variety of
programs to respond to globalization and promote
international mobility of student and faculty; sending students
to study abroad, organizing professors’ exchange, setting up a
branch campus overseas, establishing joint academic and
research programs.
II.
READINES FOR ACADEMIC MOBILITY
Globalization in engineering is an up-to-date issue and is a
topic of international discussions. US, European and Asian
researches suggested many innovative ideas that allow for
better international engineering interaction and students’
readiness for the open world [6], [7], [8], [9], [10].
Leading Russian universities also take part in the global
integration process. The number of international students is
increasing from year to year. However Russian universities
encounter some difficulties in this area. E.g., in spite of overall
growing inflow of international students, Russian participation
in the world market of educational services is decreasing. In
978-1-4799-8706-1/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
20-24 September 2015, Florence, Italy
Proceedings of 2015 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL)
1990/1991 academic year Soviet universities had 89 thousand
international students and ranked third after the USA and
France, in 2010/2011 Russia with 118,7 thousand international
students was the seventh after the USA, Great Britain,
Australia, Germany, France and Canada [3]. The quality of
education may be one of the key factors in this process. Only
one Russian university (Lomonosov Moscow State
University) is included into Top-100 world universities. It is
also rather challenging to make individual educational
trajectory for Russian students as alterations are possible only
on the macro-level of choosing the major and not on the level
of specific courses as the curriculum is set by Federal
Educational Standards and not really subject to changes.
International academic mobility means more than just the
possibility to study abroad. The mutual recognition of diplomas
and qualification does not guarantee graduates’ competitive
ability in the professional sphere.
Only professional
competence assures a successful career in the global labor
market. Furthermore, the most talented employees are the ones
with the greatest opportunity to be mobile. In this context,
academic mobility requires a wide variety of personal qualities:
talent to interact efficiently with other people; analytical
thinking; communicative skills that include cross-cultural
communication; the capacity for self-awareness and selfreflection; a willingness to act in the cross-cultural
environment; as well as respect and tolerance [11].
III.
CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCE. CONCEPT AND
METHODOLOGY
Analysis of academic mobility as a social phenomenon
allows concluding that nowadays a university graduate
alongside with wide general and specific knowledge has to
possess a high level of intellectual culture, sociopsychological competence and ability to apprehend
innovations rapidly and efficiently. This is especially relevant
to young engineers. In other words, socio-psychological
competences are no less important than professional
knowledge and skills.
The authors point out the following structural components of
socio-psychological
competence:
motivation-values,
pragmatism, cognition, personality, and communication [4].
The motivation-values component includes needs, motives, a
values system, attitudes, and the general personal orientation of
future engineer. Pragmatism equates to coping strategies, ways
of solving problems, behavior in professional situations, and
operating style, etc. The cognitive component includes
professionally specialized and psychological knowledge.
Personal traits that form socio-psychological competences of
the future engineer are diverse: leadership, emotional-volitional
traits, social responsibility, self-discipline, sense of purpose,
ambition, perseverance, creativity, the ability for selfdevelopment, etc. The communicative component includes
community relief, interpersonal skill, tolerance and respect,
good manners, negotiation skills, etc.
The context of academic mobility requires specific sociopsychological competence. Namely, this equates to crosscultural competence, meaning the individual’s ability to
contribute to intercultural effectiveness, regardless of the
particular intersection of cultures. Although some aspects of
cognition, behavior, or affect may be particularly relevant in a
specific country or region, evidence suggests that a core set of
competencies enables adaptation to any culture [13]. In fact we
are here speaking of the so-called “global competence”.
Global competence as an up-to-date necessity for engineers
is widely studied. Alan Parkinson in his paper “The Rationale
for Developing Global Competence” presents a thorough
analysis of the concept of global competence and lists 13
attributes of global competence. According to his model global
competence means engineering graduates:
1. Can appreciate other cultures;
2. Are able to communicate across cultures;
3. Are familiar with the history, government and economic
systems of several target countries;
4. Speak a second language at a conversational level;
5. Speak a second language at a professional (i.e. technical)
level;
6. Are proficient working in or directing a team of ethnic
and cultural diversity;
7. Can effectively deal with ethical issues arising from
cultural or national differences;
8. Understand cultural differences relating to product design,
manufacture and use;
9. Have an understanding of the connectedness of the world
and the workings of the global economy;
10. Understand implications of cultural differences on how
engineering tasks might be approached;
11. Have some exposure to international aspects of topics
such as supply chain management, intellectual property,
liability and risk, and business practices;
12. Have had a chance to practice engineering in a global
context, whether through an international internship, a servicelearning opportunity, a virtual global engineering project or
some other form of experience;
13. View themselves as “citizens of the world,” as well as
citizens of a particular country; appreciate challenges facing
mankind such as sustainability, environmental protection,
poverty, security, and public health [14].
Thus we may see that global competence is a multidimensional complex phenomenon that includes various
personal and professional attributes, skills and abilities. It is
evident that global engineers need social and psychological
skills alongside with high engineering qualification to be able
to fulfill their professional and personal potential.
Cross-cultural or global competence is the ability to interact
and to communicate effectively in a culture different from
one’s own. Within cross-cultural competence we point out
motivational,
cognitive,
personal,
and
communicative/behavioral components (Fig.1).
978-1-4799-8706-1/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
20-24 September 2015, Florence, Italy
Proceedings of 2015 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL)
The Russian Federal State Educational Standard for
universities allow for the inclusion of humanitarian disciplines
into engineering curricula, however it is evident that the typical
engineering curriculum pays main attention to engineering and
does not focus on the arts and social sciences.
Fig.1. Structure of cross-cultural competence
Motivational component of cross-cultural competence
includes motivation to learn more about cultural diversity,
curiosity and interest for multicultural interaction, strive for
self-development,
etc.
Cognitive
component
means
understanding of similarities and differences between countries
and ethnic groups, recognition and respect for cultural
diversity, knowledge about traditions, mentalities and ways of
living. Among personal traits we point out tolerance, crosscultural awareness, strategic thinking, adaptive ability, and
readiness for introspection in multi-cultural context, etc.
Communicative/behavioral component comprises language
proficiency, communicative skills, active networking with
people worldwide, flexibility in interactions, ability to
recognize and adapt to cultural nuances in professional and
social situations, ability for conflict resolution in the multicultural environment.
IV.
DEVELOPMENT OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCE AT
THE ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY
To promote international educational programs in
engineering universities, it is necessary to develop the crosscultural competence of students and researchers. Humanities,
especially psychology and language courses, play an important
role in developing cross-cultural competence. It is known that
cross-cultural competence needs to be developed gradually; it
is not achieved in one short course or a single workshop setting
[9]. There are good reasons to develop socio-psychological
(including cross-cultural) competence of future engineers stepby-step throughout the whole educational process at the
university. Humanities in the engineering education allow
students to evaluate the significance of innovations, to
implement them, and to overcome obstacles and difficulties in
social contacts. Besides, education in psychology and
linguistics reveals the potential for personal growth, and it
influences motivation, general outlook, values, and
consciousness as a whole. Therefore, humanities contribute to
the development of an independent, creative, socially active
person, while responding to the leading trends of the global
civilization process itself. Humanitarization of higher
engineering education is a significant trend observed by
researchers [15].
This problem may be partially solved by the additional
certificates to higher professional education (Russian
equivalent of minor degree) where students may develop
social, psychological, linguistic competences that will increase
their readiness for academic mobility.
However additional certificates to higher professional
education is an option selected by a small amount of university
students, so it is a kind of “exclusive opportunity”.
Within the system of additional professional certificates we
suggest an academic course “Cross-cultural communicational
training for engineers” (24 academic hours). The discipline is
focused on the formation and development of sociopsychological and cross-cultural competence of students. The
course includes:
•
Discussions on cultural diversity and importance of
open-mindness
•
Psychological workshop on the art of communication
and teamwork
•
Students’ presentations about history and cultural
specifics of different countries (each student chooses a
country)
•
Seminar about
strategies
•
Discussion on the ethical issues arising from cultural
or national differences and ethnical prejudices
•
Case study
•
Discussion on “global thinking”: in the Alan
Parkinson’s model this means “viewing themselves as
“citizens of the world,” as well as citizens of a
particular country; appreciating challenges facing
mankind such as sustainability, environmental
protection, poverty, security, and public health” [14].
the
interpersonal
cross-cultural
Cross-cultural communicational training for engineers is
aimed at comprehensive formation and development of crosscultural competence. The course content is designed taking into
account the four above-mentioned components of crosscultural competence (Fig.1): motivational, cognitive, personal
and behavioral/communicative.
V.
EMPIRIC STUDY
To investigate the efficiency of the introduced course we
carried out a research that included several blocks according to
the structure of cross-cultural competence. The total amount of
70 students of the Kazan National Research Technological
University aged 18-20 years old took part in the study. 36 of
them (15 male and 21 female Bachelor engineering students)
did not attend the course, and 34 engineering Bachelor students
(14 boys and 20 girls) studied the course.
The course “Cross-cultural communicational training for
engineers” was carried out within the system of additional
professional certificates for the students that studied the minor
programs “Professional Psychology” and “Professional
Translation”.
Kazan National Research Technological University aims at
promoting global cooperation; being engaged in a number of
joint projects, international programs, student and staff
exchange programs. About 1700 international students from 56
countries study at the University. All the surveyed students
were Russian citizens who had contacts with international
students.
Summative assessment (observation, interview and test on
cross-cultural motivation) showed that the levels of
development of the students’ cross-cultural competence were
approximately the same in the experimental and control
groups. At the end of semester that included the course “Crosscultural communicational training for engineers” the
reappraisal of the cross-cultural competence components was
carried out in the experimental and control groups.
As it has already been mentioned cross-cultural competence
has to be developed gradually to be interiorized by a person
and to become an integrative personal characteristics.
Therefore we think that the main purpose of the course “Crosscultural communicational training for engineers” was to
motivate the students to the further development of their
global competence, to stimulate mastering the second
language and to be open-minded and tolerant for diversity.
Therefore we studied motivational component. To analyze
cross-cultural motivation a test was developed that apprised
internal and external motives of cross-cultural communication.
The motives were graded on a 5-point scale. In the beginning
of the study the average rate of motivation was 3,4 points for
the control group and 3,5 for the experimental group. By the
end of the semester that included the course for the
experimental group the control group’s motivation was 3,5
points and experimental group showed 4,6 points. The results
proved the effectuality of the course (Table 1).
Interview also showed that the experimental group was
much more interested in cross-cultural contacts and open in
communications.
The motivation test showed that control group’s motivation
for cross-cultural communication also slightly increased,
although they had not attended the course. This most probably
might be because both groups were “Professional Psychology”
and “Professional Translation” minor degrees students, and
these programs themselves contribute to the development of
cross-cultural competence [11]. This fact proves the initial idea
that global competence is a multi-dimensional characteristic
that should be developed by a set of methods (specialized
courses, language study, humanitarization and humanization of
engineering curricula and general internationalization policy at
the university).
TABLE I.
Beginning
Semester
CROSS-CULTURAL MOTIVATION DEVELOPMENT IN THE
CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS
of
Control Group
Experimental Group
3,6
3,5
3,9
4,6
the
End of the Semester
VI.
CONCLUSION
The introduced course “Cross-cultural communicational
training for engineers” is an efficient tool for formation of
cross-cultural competence of the future global engineers.
However it is not sufficient to prepare the engineering
university graduates for the global market place and mobility
program.
Cross-cultural competence is a comprehensive personal
characteristic and its development at the university requires
system approach and gradual development of all its
components. Language studies, social psychology, culture
studies and other courses contribute greatly to its correct
development. Comprehensive approach to cross-cultural
competence development makes it possible to consider it as an
integration and interrelation of all its components, so that
development of one element causes qualitative changes in the
others. In other words, increasing of motivation to crosscultural communication influences the intellectual interest and
therefore develops the cognitive component, as well as his/her
personal characteristics (tolerance, open-mindedness, curiosity,
adaptive ability, etc.) Altogether they are shown on the
behavioral communicative level and are continuously
developed in the further professional activities and personal
lives.
Social environment is especially important, as it is the key
factor in creating the context where cross-cultural competence
will be formed, developed and shown. That is why it is
extremely important to create the atmosphere of openness and
respect towards cultural diversity on the university and national
levels.
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