In this contribution, we will present and discuss a proposal for a 4-year collaborative research project, called Virtual Exchange for Social Inclusion (VISion), led by The Open University, UK (OU) in consortium with São Paulo State University, Brazil (UNESP) and Newcastle University, UK. It will work with researchers, students and educators across the curriculum, institutional internationalisation administrators and employers in São Paulo State (Brazil), the UK and globally to promote social justice in higher education (HE) through critical Virtual Exchange (CVE).
Virtual exchange (VE) is a research-informed practice and a strong catalyst in advancing the internationalisation of Higher Education curricula, known as Internationalisation at Home. Having an alternative to physical exchanges is particularly relevant as outward student mobility is still limited, with '7.8 per cent of UK undergraduate students … choosing to study abroad' (https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/UUKi reports/intl-facts-figs-19.pdf) and 60,000 out of 8.6 million HE students in Brazil who studied abroad in 2019 (www.educationfair.nl). VEs are known to prepare students for the globalised digital workplace as they focus on developing transversal skills like problem solving, teamwork and leadership, communication, critical and innovative thinking and media and information literacy (Crawford, 2021). These skills feature high on the employability agendas of businesses and organisations dealing with an environment that will be volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) (Yarger, 2006) for at least 2 decades due to COVID-19.
VE is not inherently equitable and inclusive. Like other forms of online or blended education, it is prone to Western hegemonies and influenced by inequalities in access to and experience with technology, institutional constraints (e.g. lack of support and incentives for educators), gender, race, age, English language dominance, and socio-political and geopolitical challenges (Helm, 2020). VISion will make a significant, original contribution to theorising and framing the nascent field of CVE that aims to ensure more equitable, inclusive and purposeful student exchange experiences. Our study will be informed by critical digital literacy that leverages digital technologies for social justice-oriented action and change, e.g. by reaching out to a wider, more diverse range of students in collaborative online learning projects (Nicolau, 2021). In this presentation, we intend to expose and discuss VISion aims to:
● Develop and introduce CVE as an inclusive, sustainable, scalable IaH strategy in HEIs;
● Enhance graduate employability through international, intercultural, and transversal skills acquisition;
● Raise awareness of the benefits of CVE for students from all backgrounds and subject areas.
References
Crawford, I. (2021) 'Employer Perspectives on Virtual International Working: Essential Skills for the Globalised, Digital Workplace', Developments in Virtual Learning Environments and the Global Workplace, pp. 178–204.
Helm, F. (2020) 'EMI, internationalisation, and the digital', International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Taylor & Francis, 23(3), pp. 314–325.
Nicolau, A. (2021) 'Technological mediation in a global competence virtual exchange project: a critical digital literacies perspective.', in Papadima-Sophocleous, S., Constantinou, E. K., and Giannikas, C. (eds) Tertiary education language learning: a collection of research. Research-publishing.net, pp. 111–131.
Yarger, H. (2006) Strategic Theory for the 21st Century: The Little Book on Big Strategy. DIANE Publishing.
