Termine

• Kick off online session: either of these dates: Friday September 13, or Tuesday October 15, at 14 o’clock German time
• Intercultural communication days: Friday 18+25 October 24 from 14.00-16.00 o’clock German time (7 am Wisconsin, USA; 7 pm Thailand, Bankok). Attendance necessary for all times!
• 10 Exchange meetings: Every Friday starting November 1st from 13.30-14.30 o’clock till January 13th, 25. Christmas break from December 20th-January 3rd 25. You must attend at least 7 for completion.
• Reflection meeting: February German time, March 10th, 2025 from 13.30 to 16.30 o’clock, attendance necessary.
• Asynchronous meetings: anytime during the period of the class

Please also note: dates may change if we find out they do not work for everyone since you come from different departments and lecture times may vary.

Ort

Online

CP

3CP

Anmeldung

Registration directly to Nadine.Scholz(at)remove-this.hs-rm.de until October 16th, 2024

Dozent:in

Nadine Scholz, Yasmin Hedjri

Content

Are you about to start your semester abroad (as Incoming at HSRM or Outgoing from HSRM)? In this course, you will reflect on your personal intercultural experience and growth during your stay abroad. We will look at theories about culture, intercultural communication, theories on how cultural values affect your thinking, intercultural conflicts, and possible coping strategies. Also, your personal set of (multicultural) values and how it forms you as a person are part of this class.
In an interactive portfolio, which you will create during your stay abroad, you will reflect your personal development during your stay. Parts of the portfolio are: personal intercultural rubrics on intercultural competence before and after your stay, reflection phases, your own model on culture and reflections on your encounters during your stay abroad. The goal is to enhance your personal study abroad on a meta cognitive level and thus get the most out of your experience in another country.
Since working together with people from other countries, be it remote or on site, will very likely be part of your future working life, this course will enhance your future skill sets. Intercultural communication, critical thinking, and the ability to reflect in a constructive way are particularly worked on in this hand-on class.

For the completion of the course, you can earn 3 ECTS- Credits. Please put them on your Learning Agreement. Questions by faculty can be directed to me directly.

Detailed description:
Intercultural communication days:
In this interactive seminar, we will discuss how to act and communicate in an intercultural
sensitive way. You get the chance to reflect on your own values and cultural identity.
This course is together with other international students during their semester abroad. Let’s compare our experience – are they similar, different, what is new?
Asynchronous forum:
During your stay, you will need to answer reflection questions about your intercultural experience in our online learning platform Stud.IP. and then include them in your portfolio.
Exchange meetings:
You will have the possibility to exchange your abroad experience during the semester with other students in the same situation. We will be able to tackle questions you have together and reflect on “cultural shock” and “cultural honeymoon” phases. We will also look at some theoretical aspects on culture.
Reflection Day (online):
You will reflect your whole study abroad experience and share with others.

Portfolio:
The following parts are requested for your portfolio which you will be able to extract as a complete PDF file afterwards:

• Motivational letter
• Pictures of beginning/end
• Language requirement
• Reflections (forum questions)
• Proof of self-study content
• Interviews
• Intercultural competence self-check
• Cultural model
• Final task
• Optional: pictures, further artefacts you would like to include that influenced you during your stay abroad

Please note: the detailed portfolio parts are developed throughout the class and will be presented in the first session and uploaded on Stud.IP!
Assessment:
Creation of an “Abroad portfolio” during class and the final assessment which is either a video or paper on an intercultural topic. More details will be given in class.
How to register:
Please write an email to nadine.scholz until October 16th, 2024. This seminar is only
for 14 participants, make sure to register as soon as you decide to take this course.
What you need to do to earn ECTS credits:
Mandatory participation of at least 80%:

• All parts of the intercultural communication days
• Reflection Day
• Exchange Meetings (7 of 10)

Completion of

• Forum questions (to put in the portfolio)
• Self-study units
• Interviews abroad
• Final task: Video or paper on an intercultural topic
• Portfolio (which you will fill in along the way during your stay with tasks from the class)

Student voices from last round:
“What I liked about the Prepare & Reflect course is that it gets you excited for the semester
abroad in a playful way. Set in a safe environment, it also makes you aware of the emotional
rollercoaster that one might experience and helps you reflect on the whole experience. I also
really enjoyed getting together with other students on a regular basis and hearing about their
thoughts.”

“I really like the idea of sharing your circumstances and surroundings with other people,
especially when they're on the other side of the planet. Also, it's nice to have someone to talk
to. Sometimes, it just needs someone to listen.”

For questions, please feel free to write to the Competence & Career Center: ccc(at)remove-this.hs-rm.de or nadine.scholz(at)remove-this.hs-rm.de