National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA)

Project Title: “Internationalization at Home at Student-Centered University: (Post)-Covid Perspective”

Submitted by: Larysa Chovnyuk, Head of International Office, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA)

City: Kyiv

This project was implemented within the Training Course “Management of Internationalisation and German-Ukrainian Academic Cooperation 2020-2021”, led by the Leibniz University Hannover (LUH), funded by the DAAD (Germany), 2020-2021

Project goals:

  • To define Internationalization at Home (IAH) and its components from the student-centered perspective
  • To consider the place of international/global competence within diverse NaUKMA program commences / learning outcomes
  • To spot challenges for implementing IAH within student-centered university concept
  • To define models (and content?) of international/global competence provision in the situation of limited physical mobility (due to Covid-19 pandemic)

Project Objectives (initial):

  • To revitalize Internationalization committee of the NaUKMA Academic council
  • To develop training programs on teaching through foreign language, intercultural teaching methods, virtual exchange application for the NaUKMA universities teachers
  • To develop multicultural competence training program for the UA universities administrators
  • To include introductory training on tolerance, global competences and multicultural communication in the propaedeutic training of the NaUKMA first-year students
  • To review possible models of engagement of international faculty for teaching/co-teaching at UA universities
  • To define possible models of involving international students into internationalization of local students’ programs and practices, e.g. language tandems, student-run initiatives
  • To enhance availability and encouragement of 2nd foreign language learning for all NaUKMA students

Project Objectives (updated due to Covid-19):

  • To revitalize Internationalization committee of the NaUKMA Academic council
  • To develop training programs on teaching through foreign language, intercultural teaching methods, virtual exchange application for the NaUKMA universities teachers
  • Matching, defining and piloting of the for virtual or blended formats of internationalization of T&L, mobility (e.g. virtual), virtual collaboration of classes (virtual exchange, COIL etc.), hosting of international students, virtual employment of international faculty etc.
  • To develop multicultural competence training program for the UA universities administrators
  • To include introductory training on tolerance, global competences and multicultural communication in the propaedeutic training of the NaUKMA first-year students
  • To review possible models of engagement of international faculty for teaching/co-teaching at UA universities
  • To define possible models of involving international students into internationalization of local students’ programs and practices, e.g. language tandems, student-run initiatives
  • To enhance availability and encouragement of 2nd foreign language learning for all NaUKMA students

Deliverables: 

  • Internationalization committee of the NaUKMA Academic Council as a discussion platform on internationalization was approved by the NaUKMA Academic Council on 24 February 2021
  • Training program on teaching on intercultural competence(s), virtual exchange and virtual mobility application for the NaUKMA faculty was conducted on 10-11 December 2020
  • NaUKMA has joint a number of project and initiatives on IAH, in particular digital instruments for internationalization:
  • NaUKMA joint Bologna Hub Peer Support project (the project aims at fostering the implementation of the Bologna key commitments and the application of the Bologna tools at higher education institutions throughout the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) through counselling missions of Bologna experts) with mobility and internationalization, in particular IHA as a core topic of the counselling mission to NaUKMA etc.

Challenges and Support

What were the main challenges of your project and how did you manage to overcome them?

  • Global Covid-19 pandemic and urgent attention needed to different aspects, that internationalization/IAH
  • NaUKMA situation in 2020-21 – 3 unsuccessful attempts of the President elections, no university leadership
  • Due to the circumstances, the necessity to reconsider the project goals and objectives.

What resources helped you?

  • General NaUKMA recognition of importance of internationalization and its rooting into many university activities
  • Due to Covid 19 temporary social & personal „localization“ faculty and administration are more positive for recognizing the goals of internationalization as equipping students with global worldview and international competence and instrumentality of IAH for this purpose, rather than „relocation“
  • Several programs and faculty members readiness to familiarize themselves and to pilot digital instruments for internationalization and IAH
  • Due to pandemic online realities better technical preparation of the faculty to work online

Lessons Learnt: What are your lessons learnt and recommendations you would like to share?

  • Any project, especially strategic for the university, is a team work and cannot be implemented by one person, participating in the MOU initiative only
  • Initial need for discussion and interconnection of internationalization with other university goals (e.g. international competence is among the generic competences for the all the university students) – success, when they support each other!
  • Internationalization should involve far more stakeholders than CIO/IO
  • Possible need for the IO role rethinking (NOT the ”source” of internationalization any more)
  • Further similar initiatives – the project with comparable topics and to be implemented in tandems / teams of different Ukrainian universities, with the adviser from an EU country.

Impact:

  • First structures discussion on generic competences/learning outcomes and international/global competence as one of them
  • Methods to insure obtaining international/global competence by all the students (international mobility is not enough)
  • Piloting of virtual instruments for internationalization as one of the components for IAH

Outlook and Sustainability: What happens to the project after the end of the course (are there any follow-up projects? What are you going to do to ensure the sustainability of the project results?)

  • Feedback collection and sustainability plan for IAH initiatives, piloted during the project
  • Further dialog and exchange with international partners (e.g. participation of the NaUKMA faculty and international office staff at the International Networking Days: Virtual Teaching, Learning and Exchange (INDays) at Justus Liebig University Giessen on IAH and virtual mobility, exchanges etc. as core instruments of IAH
  • Return to the project goals, which due to pandemic had to be crossed out from the initial list: further consideration of the models of engagement of international faculty for reaching / co-teaching at NaUKMA; programs of involving international students into internationalization of local students’ programs and practices, e.g. language tandems, student-run initiatives and others
  • Final consideration and approval of the list of generic competences/learning outcomes for all NaUKMA programs and inclusion of international/global competence into this list
  • Development of recommendations on international/global competence provision (IAH as one of the instruments) within study programs of different level