This paper reports a virtual exchange that took place during March and April 2022 and that involved three Higher Education Institutions: Penn State Lehigh Valley University (USA), AN-Najah University (Occupied Palestinian Territory), and the Higher Institute of Technological Studies of Béja ( Tunisia). This project aimed to enhance students’ creative and teamwork skills in a virtual and multicultural environment, preparing them for the global workplace and developing their global citizenship. 31 students participated in this virtual exchange and were split into 6 multicultural, gender-balanced, and multi-disciplined groups to develop social entrepreneurship projects that contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals using the design thinking methodology. The project also included cross-cultural dialogue activities. The results of the post-virtual exchange survey showed that students not only enhanced their awareness of their peers’ cultures but also of global citizenship and sustainable development goals. There was also an increase in confidence and comfort of participants when collaborating in a multicultural and virtual setting to solve global complex issues. This presentation will discuss the different synchronous and asynchronous activities that were implemented to guide the students through this project, and the various channels of communication that were used. The results of the end-of-project survey will be discussed as well as the challenges faced and the lessons learned.

Conference Title

International Virtual Exchange Conference

Conference Country

Brazil

Conference Date

Oct. 30, 2023 - Nov. 1, 2024

Conference Sponsor

Stevens Initiative - The Aspen Institute

Additional Info

Conference Website