Fachhochschule des bfi Wien GmbH

International HR Week on Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace – Blended Intensive Programme (BIP)

Keywords

• - "Bachelor"
• - "Barrier-free"
• - "Digital"
• - "Diversity"
• - "Erasmus+"
• - "University of Applied Sciences"
• - "Promoting quality transnational mobility for lecturers"
• - "Promoting quality transnational mobility for students "
• - "University cooperation"
• - "international cooperation"
• - "International and intercultural competence"
• - "Internationalisation of the Curriculum"
• - "Cultural diversity"
• - "Short-term mobility"
• - "Learning outcomes"
• - "Virtual/physical mobility"

Short description

Objective

The BIP ‘International HR Week on Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace’ was developed and organised as part of the Human Resources International Network (HUMINT Network). The HUMINT network was launched in March 2010 with the aim of providing students and university staff with European learning and teaching experiences in the field of human resources. The various partner universities in the HUMINT network facilitate multinational professional exchange. International lecturers are invited to provide specialist input and coach students during their work processes. An annual meeting of the lecturers and coordinators ensures that the quality of the event is reflected upon and further developed. Since 2010, the International HR Week has been funded by the FH BFI Vienna. With the Erasmus+ 2021/2027 programme generation, the opportunity arose to organise HR Week as a BIP with changing partners from the network. This enables funding from Erasmus+ funds for the event on site, but also for travel and accommodation costs for the participants. As a result, the number of participants increased significantly. Learning Outcomes (competences to be acquired): After successful participation in the BIP students are able to: • Define the concept of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and understand the business and the moral arguments behind it, including its contribution to sustainable development. • Assess the importance of corporate Diversity Management and the and the possibilities of cooperation with supporting organisations.. • Diagnose problems of DEI in a specific organisational context and analyse DEI problems in a specific organisational context and formulate objectives to overcome them.. • Analyse potential measures to achieve the goals of a DEI project and structure them in a comprehensive strategy. • Present a DEI strategy taking into account the target group and their possible concerns. • Describe characteristics of a team and team phases with special consideration of intercultural teams. • Reflect on their own interdisciplinary and diverse team regarding these characteristics and the current team phases. • Develop solutions to challenges that arise in an intercultural team (under guidance).

Target group(s)

• - "University members"
• - "University managements"
• - "Lecturers"
• - "Students"
• - "Scientific staff"

Area

• - "Global Mindset"
• - "Incoming"
• - "Internationalisation"
• - "Internationalisation of studies and teaching "
• - "Skills development"
• - "Mobility funding for university staff"

Framework

The International HR Week ties in with other collaborations within the HUMINT network. A student conference on the topic of ‘Diversity & Inclusion at the Workplace’ is organised annually by the partners. It takes place at one of the universities in the network and therefore changes location regularly. The International HR Week on Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) in the scope of 3 ECTS which is supported by Erasmus+ funds and organized by the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna for its students as well as for students from partner universities. In addition to the FH BFI Vienna, six other universities are currently participating in the HUMINT network (Metropolia University of Applied Sciences Helsinki, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, University College Leuven Limburg, Université de Bretagne Occidentale/IUT Quimper, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, University American College Skopje), whereby the partners that send students to the International HR Week can change annually as part of the network. In addition, partner universities outside the network can also send students to International HR Week. Every year in May, around 30 students from various Bachelor's degree programmes with a business background (e.g. HR Management, International Management or Event Management) take part in a week of lectures in presence, which is preceded by 2 online sessions in April and May as well as various self-study tasks. The ratio is approximately 1:5 FH BFI to international students. In 2023, 31 students took part in the International HR Week, 6 of whom were FH students. Participants do not need any prior knowledge of HR, diversity & inclusion or people with disabilities, but should be sensitised to these topics during this BIP and develop an understanding that they can bring to their professional environment as future specialists and managers to promote diversity in their organizations, regardless of their course of study. In addition, they work in multicultural teams with students from different countries, particularly European countries. The language used throughout the programme is English which for most of the students is not their native language. In most cases, participating students can have a course recognised at their university that is thematically relevant to the content and objectives of the International HR Week and corresponds to the workload of 3 ECTS. The degree programmes or the universities themselves will inform in advance about the recognition options. Each successful participant will be issued an official certificate of participation.

Steps/Activities

The students receive 2 scientific or popular science articles on diversity and inclusion in the workplace in English, which they are asked read and prepare for themselves with the help of questions. The content of these articles will be prepared during the week in presence in May as part of a World Café or incorporated into their reflection journal. During the first online session with all participating students, the aim is to get to know the others and ‘break the ice’. During the second online session, the students familiarise themselves with the characteristics of a team and the special features of multicultural teams. During the attendance week, there will be guest lectures by lecturers from the partner university on related topics that they teach themselves or in which they conduct research, as well as speakers from the field (e.g. diversity managers from companies) and supporting organizations that support people with disabilities but also their recruitment in companies. Interactive formats in which students develop, discuss and present content themselves are also part of the course. The core of this week, however, is formed by small group work on 5 different fictitious case studies, all of which examine the topic of people with disabilities in the workplace from a different perspective and present students with the task of developing suitable strategies to the challenges described. They are accompanied by teachers who support them in solving their task by being available as coaches, asking the right questions and giving feedback on interim solutions and ideas. At the end of the week, the results are presented to a jury of teachers who, together with the other students who are not presenting, ask questions to the respective small groups. Every afternoon, before the course closes, the students also have around 30 minutes to complete a page in their reflection diary, which deals with different topics each day. They hand this diary in to the course leader at the end, as it is one criterion for evaluating the course. Other assessment criteria include the quality of the small group work, including their presentation, participation in the interactive course formats and attendance at the individual sessions (online and in person).

Impact

The extensive reflection journals (approx. 5-7 pages per participant) and the evaluations show that most students acquire a great deal of new knowledge and new skills in the area of diversity and inclusion and become more confident in dealing with people with disabilities. For example, many were previously unaware that neurodivergence is also considered a disability and affects around 15% of the entire population. Students report that they have become more sensitive in their use of language and will endeavour to use a more inclusive vocabulary. They write in their reflection journals that they also feel more comfortable working in diverse, multicultural teams and using English as a working language in the future. For some students who previously had little or no contact with HR management, the week contributed to a greater interest in the subject and motivated them to possibly pursue a Master's degree in this area. The greatest positive effect from the students' point of view, however, was that they were able to make new friends from countries that were previously unknown to them. In addition to the direct learning effects of the participants, the development of the International HR Week also has an impact on the ‘People and Culture Management’ degree programme, which has developed a holistic internationalisation concept in which the HR Week is a central component. Furthermore, cooperation with the partner universities in the network has led to other strategically important projects. The BFI Vienna University of Applied Sciences is a member of the European University Initiative U!REKA Shift, the project is coordinated by the partner university Metropolia University of Applied Sciences Helsinki.

Lessons learned

What worked very well was the division of the students into teams for different case studies (maximum 7 students per group). This meant that the presentations were exciting and all different. The fact that each small group of students had their own lecturer as a coach also encouraged the coaches to focus more intensively on the respective topic and provide more targeted support. It was good to include different guest speakers. Interactivity is particularly important to the students in this format and an interactive design of the presentations can also encourage participation and attention in subsequent question and answer sessions. One challenge is to actively organise student participation during the online sessions (including switching on the camera). We are therefore considering whether this should be a criterion for assessing attendance. With regard to the assessment criteria in general, a balanced focus between the design of the presentation and the content of the solution are considered to be important. Early involvement of the support institutions and regular exchange with them (event management, Teaching & Learning Centre, International Office) is particularly helpful for successful processing. It is also important to prepare the guest lecturers who attend the International HR Week with their students for their role during the week and to establish links to their research and teaching specialisations.

Further links to the manual