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This project assesses the impact of multicultural team problem-solving on engineering students' intercultural competencies. It explores the desire for and ability to act and communicate constructively when meeting people from other cultures, as well as the ability to explore other cultures, have cultural self-insight, strong communication skills, and a respectful attitude. Recommendations include language policies, explicit codes for teamwork and report writing, integration or fusion of Danish and foreign students, empowering intercultural communication, supporting social life and team building, and educating supervisors in intercultural conflict management.
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Assessing the impact on intercultural competencies when engineering students solve problems in multicultural teams Lars Peter Jensen, Associate Professor, Automation and Control, Aalborg University: lpj@es.aau.dk Linda Madsen, Pedagogical consultant, Copenhagen University College of Engineering: lim@ihk.dk Bjørn Nygaard, Chief consultant, anthropologist Ideas2action: bjorn@idethandling.com
Agenda • Introduction • Method • Objectives and results • Recommendations
Why is culture an issue? • Establishment of international program • Future engineers will be working in a globalized world they need intercultural competencies • Curriculum is changing Students must develop both intercultural competencies and engineering qualifications
Definition of Intercultural Competences? • The desire for and ability to act and communicate constructively when meetings people from other cultures. In continuous relationship this can only be obtained by gaining knowledge about the other culture/cultures, the ability to explore the other culture one self, cultural self-insight, strong communication skills and a respectful attitude. …the desire and ability to act and communicate … the ability to explore the other culture … cultural self-insight … strong communication skills … a respectful attitude
Project about internationalization • DACIN internationalization project 2009 – 2011 • Results from SDU, VIA University College, IHK • 3 engineering educations, where classes/teams of mixed Danish and foreign students work together in one semester • Project members from engineering educations, involved teachers, consultant Bjørn Nygaard and anthropology student Jonas Søgaard Green • The target group are foreign and danish students working together on projects in mixed teams. • Investigated question: Do cooperation between the two groups make a difference in development of intercultural competencies
Method • Development of targets and success criteria • Questionnairesurveys (before and after): Not valid • Focus group interviews with 53 students and 8 teachers – app. 2/3 international and 1/3 Danish • Observations at IHK by Jonas Søgaard Green (Anthropology student)
Brainstorm Project objectives: increased intercultural competences Short term effect: • Dialogue on how to work together • Can manage conflict in groups • The students have established international / Danish network • Students seeking academic knowledge with one another across cultures and beyond Danish borders
Project objectives: increased intercultural competences Did we succeed ? • Dialogue on how to work together only about rules and in DK terms • Can manage conflict in groups not very well • The students have established international / Danish network no • Students seeking academic knowledge with one another across cultures and beyond Danish borders no
Positive results of cultural encounter • Practice to work in multi cultural teams - they know this will be needed in future jobs; + on CV • A spice to life • Better English • More accurate in the formulations and makes use of multiple ways of explanation than usual • Foreign students: Learning to work in groups
Preliminary Conclusion on Intercultural Competences • Trend: groups that work best: only people from Northwest Europe/USA or have only one member from other countries • There ARE more knowledge about thatculture can be a challenge and about learning and collaborative differences • Some still do not know how to deal with the challenges, while many others are in progress but still has some way to go • Intercultural competencies are strengthened but not sufficient ”It is now clear to me that working with people from other cultures is difficult but I have not yet found solutions.”
Recommendations • Language Policy with consequences if not followed. Better screening before acceptance of students • Explain explicit codes: what is teamwork; how to write reports • Go for Integration or Fusion: how do we maintain the best from DK and meet the foreign students, where they are? Make rules and consequences if they isn’t respected. Use foreign teachers ”If you are 10 minutes late you are not allowed in class but will have to wait for the next class.”
Recommendations • Empower Intercultural Communication, especially the ability to explore other cultures and conflict management • Support social life and team building (a must) • Conflict management: educate supervisors in intercultural conflict management • Support the students in assessment of the social contract and set up consequences if it isn’t respected • More than one semester's work
