What benefits and challenges does teaching such a course bring?

The benefits certainly include students’ experience working on a project in an international team, the development of their communication skills in a foreign language, and their intercultural communication competence. After completing the course, they should be more open and tolerant of differences or, for example, ambiguity in communication, and thus better prepared for the professional world.

The main challenge was motivating students from French universities, who initially did not see many benefits in the course but rather a lot of extra work. They did not prepare much for tasks such as writing a CV, a cover letter, and preparing for an interview in French, and paradoxically, they scored lower than students from other universities. We therefore added an English-language component, which turned out to be a good choice – some of our students were afraid to speak French in front of native speakers but were more confident in English, so they felt more comfortable in this activity. French students, in turn, experienced what it is like to express ideas in a language that is not their own. This is an important experience because French students often do not realize that when they speak quickly and use colloquial language, other students have trouble understanding them.

After each online meeting, we ask students how they are doing. We respond to some challenges during the course. We analyze all feedback at the end and adjust the next run accordingly. For example, we shortened or modified some topics based on feedback. Over time, we also realized that we need to focus more on the intercultural aspect and collaboration in international teams because these elements motivate students to engage more actively.

How do you incorporate elements of internationalization into other courses you teach?

I’m also involved in another course within the EDUC alliance, so these courses make up a large part of my teaching. However, I try to invite foreign colleagues to almost all my classes. We also work closely with international companies, the embassy, and the Czech-French Chamber of Commerce. Our alumni, who now work in these companies, help us with this cooperation. We aim to ensure that students establish contacts with potential future employers during their studies.

In my teaching, I also try to make the most of the fact that foreign students attend these courses. I encourage discussion, collaboration, and reflection in class. I always welcome having international students in my courses because it brings a fresh dynamic.

Do you have any inspiring experience from running the EDUC course?

After the first run of the course, I saw a LinkedIn post from a colleague in France asking for help finding an internship for her student, who had completed our course. I joined the search in Brno, but since time was short, we eventually arranged the internship at our faculty. It was quite improvised – the student was in Brno within a week. She was involved in activities with public administration institutions and also helped us promote French in schools across the South Moravian Region. We received excellent feedback from the schools we visited. What started as an effort to help one student has now become a regular practice and we’ve hosted five French students since then.

The physical mobility aspect of the course emerged just as spontaneously. Together with a colleague and a French student in Brno, we jokingly sent a photo to other teachers, inviting them to join us for the course’s final meeting three weeks later. Although the initial reaction was “that’s impossible,” a group from the University of Pécs and one teacher with a student from Paris eventually came. Others joined online. It was spontaneous and full of energy, and we agreed we’d like to do it this way every time. The first year, we met in Brno at the Jošt statue; the following year, we gathered at the horse statue in Pécs, and this year, we’ll meet in Rennes – again by a horse statue, of course.

I think mobility at the end of the course is also motivating for students; some may be hesitant to go on Erasmus for a whole semester, but this way, they can try short-term mobility and visit a foreign university. They can see if they’d enjoy it and perhaps apply for Erasmus the following year.

Physical mobility also means that local students in the course can help organize the final meeting: they usually prepare the program and act as guides for visiting colleagues. This gives them a chance to experience co-organizing a conference.

Of course, the course has a certain structure, but we respond flexibly to situations as they arise, and the course evolves accordingly. I’m glad that many things happening in the course are spontaneous and based on friendship. It’s truly touching to see students finally meet in person after working together online for an entire semester.