Here is what I was thinking and you let me know what you think...I think there is much about international collaboration from an institutional perspective (memorandum's of understanding, joint appointments and enrollments, curricula collaboration, etc.) and from individual faculty/professors' perspective (difficulties in finding partners, institutional support, competing priorities, etc.)....BUT I think there is very little from a student perspective.
Why don't we think about international collaboration from a student perspective - what makes the international collaboration important for students (both here and abroad).
- Why should either institution, here or abroad, make the effort?
- Why should students try to find time for this kind of activity given the rigorous schedules they have already?
- Why should an individual faculty member try to engage international students in conversation given their own professional and institutional priorities?
- What is the value of this sort of exchange and is it worth the expended energy?
What do you think? I would be happy to submit an abstract but we could collaboratively write a paper and make a presentation....let me know if this is something that might be of interest.
And of course good luck on your exams. EM
Madrid, really interesting, I will try to give my opinion here about this topic.
ReplyDeleteYour idea is really great, to make presentation, and even visit Spain would be a great experience for members of this group. But, you mentioned our first problem, funding. Even though, there is an alternative to participate in that conference via Skype that we can always use.
Student’s attitude in Bosnia is really specific. Most of students go to Faculty to finish it, get certificate, and try to find job. There is really a small will for international collaboration. But there are students that are interested in that kind of studying and developing their own capabilities. Even though it's a small percent of student’s population, we face really high barriers to participate in such activities. First of all is, that we from Bosnia need visas to visit almost every country in world, except 17 countries, that are our neighbors, or politically downtrodden like Bosnia. But I must say that lately there are some moves on this field it's still a process that wastes time for students who want to participate. Those moves are mainly agreements between Bosnian government and embassies, to provide free visas for shorter time for students. But the procedure is complicated and most of us don't have time or will to make problem him/herself with that.
Also one of major barriers, as we mentioned earlier, is funding. We all know what kind of situation is in Bosnia. Through my opinion I gave you only a part of answers to your questions.
Institutions make effort sometimes for their own profits that could be recognized in different kinds of fees. But it’s not only that participation fees are a benefit for them. There is a benefit for their wider community, like hotels and restaurants, and tourist attractions. Also, that kind of collaboration carries with itself a large number of contacts, and other “invisible” benefits. I’ve analyzed the aspect of international collaboration, when there is a need to visit foreign countries. Collaborations in other way, like online forums and similar are used to fulfill knowledge and make information basis, and main barrier in that kind of collaboration could be languages, technological aspect etc.
Students, who want to become high rated professionals, need to participate in international activities as more as possible. That kind of activities with it’s main goal actually draws contacts, experience, and many other values that can and will be used in their practice and life. This is one rational reason why to make effort.
For example, 10 students from our faculty are attending Summer School in Koper, Slovenia, this year. It’s sponsored from our faculty, Faculty of Economics, University of Zenica. Also there are a few programs that offer CEEPUS scholarships for such activities. But nevertheless, students international collaboration is area that students need to develop by themselves, in their mind.
Hope that everyone will understand what I was trying to say in this long post. Also I hope, that it will have purpose and that we will use some of these details, here said, in our common presentation in Madrid, if we agree on it.
ES
ES, I think you are quite clear in your posting. Thank you for giving the idea such thought! And I do understand the complications of trying to get visas as well as funding for such an event.
ReplyDeleteFor most students, even in the US, the most important outcome of a college degree is a better job with some sort of career path.My own daughters and son had the same focus.
My question for you, not just you specifically but the group you, is would having had some international collaboration be an advantage for that first job search? Would even something like participating in this blog be helpful for not only practicing English but also getting ideas and references beyond your borders? The idea of serendipidous learning, nothing formal or planned but the kind of thing you learn as a result of something else, is a very important concept in learning theory. And often time takes on greater importance as you reflect on how you got to where you are later in life.
In the US most students, now this is a generalization but based in some fact, are very insulated. They don't speak multiple languages, their international experience is vacations are to Mexico or Caribbean Islands, they have a very ethnocentric point of view....and the worst part, in my opinion, is that they don't know it.
For me international collaboration from this end gives students an opportunity to see beyond their own comfort level and to explore other possible perspectives. Employers, and most of the students I work with are working adults, are looking for people with that broader view. Even small "mom and pop" businesses have some sort of global interaction and having a bigger world view is important....
Do you, again the group you, think that is the same in Bosnia? Or are economic conditions such that this global orientation appears to be a luxury?
EM
Elle, I see what you want to say. It really feels good for me to share my opinion with somebody from US like you, and to realize that we have similar, maybe the same opinion on this topic.
ReplyDeleteRight now I am in third year of my study, and I had opportunity to talk to few employers.
International experience in education means a lot for them. But in Bosnia, there is always a negative connotation on that. People with better income are in position to pay their children to study abroad, or to study on private university where you get international diploma. And what happens? Actually they finish their education, and they automatically get promoted in best companies, without any procedures that are often for students that studied in Bosnia.
As I mentioned earlier student from my Faculty are attending an International Summer School, that for most of us will be first international experience in education. We count on that as one reference more, and a lot of skills and experience in getting job later. To conclude, international experience for students in Bosnia is definitely an advantage.
Also I saw in your comment, that student in US don’t speak multiple language. In Bosnia there is similar situation, but I might say a little bit better. I can prove this, by fact that in Gymnasium (my secondary school) I attended I have learnt English and German for 4 years, and Latin for 2 years. Latin is really specific because it’s a great basis for learning Spanish, Italian and French. That’s my case. But another fact is that we on our Faculty use books that have a lot on words on English, and for our works we also use literature on English. All in all the situation is not so bright, we can always achieve more, but what is really important is the awareness of students that foreign languages condition sin que non, something that we can’t without.
Elle here is a question for you: Besides that we benefit from our communication and exchanging our opinions, is there a way to make our conversation formally valid, like a reference or something similar?
Emir Skopljak
Tell me what you mean by "formally valid'. Do you mean can it be documented or quantified in some way that would allow you to use it, in a very good way, to your advantage?
ReplyDeleteOne thing that perhaps I could do is act as a reference, writing a letter about your participation and what that means in terms of leadership qualities. Now that would mean we would have to have an on going conversation (sort of as we are now) but over time. This would allow me to evaluate in a way that I could discuss particular abilities.
Did you have something else in mind? Let me know what you were/are thinking. EM
PS...I am in fact looking for possible funding to support your, several of you if you are interested, participation in this conference. I am told by my university's grants and planning department that I have waited a bit too long...but I am still looking. EM
ReplyDeleteYes!!! that's what I was trying to say...
ReplyDeletenow I am going to read your new post...