With an increasing number of universities all over the world
offering undergraduate courses taught in English at affordable
rates, UK students are looking overseas for their education. Many
of the programmes they find offer a new perspective on teaching and
learning.
"It's a very international environment here," says Jana Light,
who is studying communications at the HAN University of Applied
Sciences, a state university in Nijmegen in the Netherlands. "In my
class we have one Dutch guy, and the rest are from Germany,
Ukraine, Lithuania, China, Vietnam, Indonesia – all over."
It's similar at IE, a private international university with
campuses in Madrid and Segovia, Spain. "We have multicultural
classes of 25 to 50 students, which may bring together people from
20 different countries," says Geoffroy Gérard, associate director
of communications. "That will affect everything from the students'
interests to the styles of study they have experienced."
International students make up 60 per cent of IE's intake. At
Jacobs University, a private institution in Bremen, Germany, more
than 75 per cent come from outside Germany.
The teaching style benefits from this international mix of
students. IE's approach, for example, prioritises discussion and
debate over "chalk and talk". If there are lectures, they won't be
the stadium-scale, professor-at-lectern affairs that go on at many
UK institutions. "Usually, learning will involve some sort of
chat," says Gérard.
Another feature of many international universities, and
certainly of HAN, Jacobs and IE, is a focus on group work. Light
says: "Students have to deal with each other on a day-to-day basis.
You talk to each other about the different ways you might approach
your work and your different experiences of learning. Everyone
gains from that."
Students then apply these team-working skills to real work
environments. Light, for example, hopes to spend the next year of
her studies in Sweden, with six months in a work experience
placement and six months at a Swedish university, all counting
towards her degree. Comparable opportunities at IE have students
taking internships all over the world.
Students still communicate with professors via online platforms.
"That can be a split screen, where they can talk to each other as
well as to the professors, or it may be in forums where students
and tutors can discuss a topic and work through assignments," says
Gérard. Contact is maintained and students have targets to
meet.
Professors have a global outlook, too. "All of our professors
have international experience. They have either come from other
countries, or they are Spanish professors who have taught or
studied in international universities. That brings a different
mindset to the learning."
Light is aware of how education styles can vary between
countries. The 21-year-old grew up between England and Germany, was
schooled in both countries and now attends a Dutch university. "I
found the approach to school in England to be quite disciplined.
Everyone was expected to do their homework and to be on time, and
the students were very respectful towards the teachers. In Germany,
it was a lot more informal." At HAN, she says: "The atmosphere is
really open and friendly."
Students may take some time to adapt, however. At Jacobs, there
are systems in place to help students acclimatise. "When students
first arrive on campus, they all go through inter-cultural training
– learning how to work together in teams, learning about
cross-cultural communication, experiencing different kinds of
classroom culture," says Marie Vivas, director of admissions. "We
think it's very important to teach each other about these
differences and we encourage all students to be active in the
classroom and research processes. The hope is that the students who
graduate from these international classrooms will be able to work
in teams with people from all over the world."
IE, HAN and Jacobs are among a number of international
universities exhibiting at the Student World Fair, which is being
held at the Emirates Stadium in London, 17 March 2012. Visit
www.thestudentworld.com
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