Office of International Programs Offers Second Annual Global Learning & Internationalization Institute

From May 15 to May 19, fifteen faculty members participated in the second Global Learning and Internationalization Institute (GLII), organized by the Office of International Programs (OIP). This initiative was created to support faculty in developing goals for internationalizing their teaching and curriculum and in creating global learning experiences for all students. An important goal of GLII is for participants to engage in an ongoing community of practice to facilitate innovation and create best practices in international education on the UNC Charlotte campus. According to Associate Provost Joël Gallegos, “It is essential to provide our faculty with development opportunities and resources that support them in integrating global learning and intercultural competence considerations in their teaching and course design. UNC Charlotte is incredibly fortunate to have such engaged faculty committed to advancing the internationalization of their teaching, engagement and research.”

Intercultural competence and global learning are the core theoretical foundations of GLII, and hence the organizational committee devoted time to scaffold the learning throughout the GLII, from debriefing the faculty members on their Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) group profile, to introducing global learning frameworks and rubrics, while providing many hands-on activities for faculty members to experience and internalize the learning.

GLII provided an opportunity for faculty participants to learn about key concepts such as internationalization, intercultural competency, and global learning ecosystem. Participants also explored various tools of curriculum internationalization which were provided by OIP, including Globally Networked Learning, faculty-led study abroad programs and the related student learning outcomes. In addition, participants also heard from other faculty speakers with rich experiences in conducting internationally oriented teaching and research from both UNC Charlotte and Purdue University, an institution on the forefront of global learning. On the final day of GLII, participants presented their post-GLII implementation ideas in the form of “lightning presentations” to both fellow participants, GLII organizers and peer experts.

GLII faculty attendees cut across disciplines, representing the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Health and Human Services, the College of Arts + Architecture, Cato College of Education, and College of Computing and Informatics. During GLII, the participants engaged in a variety of interactive sessions delivered by experts at UNC Charlotte as well as exchange partner institutions: University of Kent at Canterbury in England, Stellenbosch University in South Africa and Universidad de Cantabria in Spain. Additional highlights included a presentation by the Interim Associate Chancellor for Research Deb Thomas on “Internationalizing Your Research.” Senior administrators, including Interim Provost Jennifer Troyer, and Deans Muller, Butler and Cukic, addressed “The Career Value of Internationalization” with the GLII cohort. The speakers underscored the importance of having faculty engage in international education activities, drawing parallels to their own careers, and confirmed the value of international initiatives on our campus.

One ongoing aspect of GLII is the establishment of a community of practice composed of all GLII participants. Last year’s cohort engaged with this year’s GLII participants throughout the week and will continue to do so during the upcoming year. The community of practice embodies a growing group of internationalization practitioners on campus, who serve as resources to each other and the campus community and enhance the global nature of the University as a whole.

OIP offers the Institute on an annual basis. According to the post-GLII evaluation, 100% of the surveyed participants agreed that they feel more empowered to conduct global learning and internationalization work as a result of this institute and would recommend GLII to a colleague. One of the participants shared that, “The times that we did more learner-engaged activities were some of the most impactful.” Adriana Medina, Ph.D., associate professor of reading education, and this year’s University Teaching Excellence Award winner and Faculty International Education Award recipient, continues to be instrumental in planning and implementing the GLII along with staff from OIP. Medina has been a stalwart partner to OIP and her enthusiasm for global education and input in GLII is much valued by OIP and participants alike.

The GLII organizational committee consists of Adriana L. Medina, Ph.D., Joseph Hoff, Ph.D., Yongling Gorke, Ph.D. and Associate Provost Joël Gallegos.