Diversity Matters: International Classroom

For Diversity Month we would like to share with you the Diversity Matters columns and interviews that were published in our staff magazine Febrations. The column and interview below about the International Classroom project were written in March 2018.

Enjoy the read!

University classrooms globally come with their own distinct sets of teaching styles and expectations, from a focus on research-based teaching and independent learning to more practise-based approaches and participatory discussions to memorisation of vast amounts of information and expert opinions. Just as much as global teaching methodologies differ, so too do student experiences and learning styles. Some students learn better by thinking, some by doing, some by feeling, and some by observing.

With student and staff mobility in higher education on the rise, it has become a challenge to support student learning in such diverse environments; yet, this diversity increases the quality of education at higher education institutions immensely. International Classroom (IC) is one set of pilot projects at FEB, and across the UG, aimed to support the success of all students both in and out of the classroom, by utilising differences in cultural backgrounds, course expectations, and learning styles to improve experiences and learning.

The IC pilots were created to help students and staff apply cultural differences as an asset to strengthen the FEB experience by adapting aspects of the curriculum in such a way that:

1. students, regardless of cultural background or nationality, feel equally included and
2. graduates are well prepared to act as professionally involved citizens in global society.

FEB has set-up two IC pilot project teams comprised of researchers, lecturers, support staff, and students for the faculty, one in the Masters of Business Administration (MSc BA) programme, which serves approximately 300 students and the other in the Bachelor of International Business (BSc IB) programme, which serves approximately 1,000 students.

We’ve spoken to Alvi Safira Syarifuddin (AS), a first year student originally from Indonesia, studying Economics & Business Economics who is the International Ambassador for EBF, and Annemieke Roelvink (AR), a second year student from the Netherlands, studying International Business. We’ve asked Annemieke about her experiences in the IC of IB and Alvi about her experiences in a non-pilot study. Their answers give us a taste of student perspectives on an international classroom, both the formal
and the informal side of it.

Focusing on your study, what do you value most about the international environment at FEB?

AS: I am used to cultural differences because I grew up in different countries around the world and I very much enjoy getting to know people from different backgrounds. I believe that being exposed to cultural differences during your studies helps you to increase your awareness of these differences and culturally appropriate behavior.

AR: The reason I chose to study IB is that I wanted to be part of an international environment. I like the fact that my experience in IB gives me a taste of what my work environment could be like after graduation. I appreciate the group work and exposure to cultural differences as this is how I’m able to learn more about what to be aware of whilst collaborating with people from different backgrounds.

What challenges have you encountered with FEB’s diverse and international context?

AS: In our SPAA-groups I noticed that I often have to put in extra effort to speak to the Dutch students in my group, so in the beginning I didn’t feel like I was connecting to them. Also, I noticed that although some teachers try to include examples from all over the world in their course materials, it seems they are not always able to teach the subject relative to our international setting. Quite often the examples used are still either local or wider Dutch examples.I was also a bit disappointed at Career’s Week as the workshops that appealed to me most, namely those by ING and Deloitte, were only open to Dutch-speaking students.

AR: I have been working on my own directness, and I know that even for a Dutch person I can be very direct. As a result I might have, at the very beginning, offended some of my fellow students. This taught me that I should be considerate of the fact that what I do can be perceived differently by the people I work with, regardless of my intention. I don’t feel that others should merely adjust to me, it’s a twoway- street. The diverse groups have helped us to get to know each other while working on assignments. And I like the course of Cross-cultural Management where we learn more about the theory behind cultural difference, but I think it would be effective if we were exposed to the theory sooner, say in the first year.

What suggestions do you have for FEB to support integration?

AS: In my view it would really help if the Faculty had buddies for international students at the beginning of the first semester. I had a ‘homework partner’ for Mathematics and that was a very nice way to build a friendship through those interactions, but I think this could have been embedded more in how I was introduced to studying in the Netherlands. Another option that I think would foster integration is more group work at the beginning of the studies. I am now expected to do a lot of group work in semester two, but was used to individual learning in semester one.

AR: In our first year mentor groups, I cherished the effort of our student tutor to do things together as a group with both Dutch and international students. These activities, unfortunately, stopped after a couple of weeks into semester one. I noticed that it’s easier for most, for both Dutch and international students, to withdraw to their comfort zones, only being in touch with the people they know. So, if I could suggest something for FEB, it would be to advance the social side and offer more and structured guidance in terms of social activities as part of the curriculum.