So you have read our introduction to OIE and watched the video, and still do not know how to start? Don’t worry! Here are a few tips which may help to get you going. 

First of all, consider whether you are willing to invest time in innovating your course. If you do not have the energy or ambition to design or redesign some of the tasks that you want your students to do,  then you should perhaps postpone and consider later if OIE is for you. If you would rather not do it because you are too busy preparing for ‘hybrid education’, think twice! OIE is a form of hybrid learning and both students and teachers generally like it. If you are looking for ways to make online learning more attractive and relevant for your students, read on. 

Next, try to imagine how your course will be enhanced if your students collaborate with students from other regions in the world and other cultural backgrounds. Will it open up new perspectives on your course content? Will this provide a way of giving your students an international, cross-cultural experience which they would not have otherwise? Is this a way for them to use language (not necessarily English!) in an authentic setting? Does it mirror collaborative work forms in students’ prospective working environments? If you cannot think of ways in which OIE may enhance your course, then perhaps it is not for you. 

Third, if you are still with us: Is there someone you know in a partner institution that you should like to work with? A colleague you met at a conference? A researcher, who brings relevant, complementary expertise to your course, possibly someone from another discipline? A guest lecturer you work with? If you do not have personal contacts, consider if your department or faculty is in international partnerships from which potential contacts could be drawn. Ask your international relations officer for names of institutions, departments or academics you could work with. If all fails and you are prepared to work with someone you do not know yet, consider making a partner request through a  partner finding tool, such as that on UNICollaboration.org. 

Four, time to start the training! Assuming you have found a partner, contact us for training by the UG Educational Staff Development team. We will give you and your partner access to the online training space and assign a trainer from our professional development team to help you get started and to provide feedback on the work you submit. You are expected to complete the tasks in about two weeks. Your total time investment is estimated at 8 hours. The training will help you formulate the required international learning outcomes, familiarise you with tools you can use and help you design tasks that work!  

Five. Training completed, you will continue working on the exchange project and implement it with your partner. While you run your project, we will provide mentoring and advice on any questions you may have. We also have a small budget to cover costs you need to make to prepare and run the collaboration. We have made provisional arrangements with some institutions from the UG partner network to make sure your colleagues ‘at the other end’ can also be supported pedagogically, technically, or financially. 

Good luck on your road to success! 

If you have any questions, contact us at envoie rug.nl. 

ENVOIE Project Team