Hochschule Campus Wien

MA23 Project PAINT - Packaging Technology goes International: COIL Pilot as Preparation for the Global Packaging Industry

A COIL project was piloted for part-time students, which was used profitably for the internationalisation of the curriculum and the acquisition of international competencies.

Objectives

The packaging industry is an interdisciplinary, global industry. In order to prepare students in the best possible way for the opportunities and challenges of the global packaging industry, the Faculty of Packaging and Resource Management at FH Campus Wien University of Applied Sciences places particular emphasis on the acquisition of international and intercultural competencies during their studies. Capacity building through the internationalisation of curricula is of particular interest in this context. Not least because the bachelor's degree programme in packaging technology is conducted part-time, the majority of students cannot use traditional exchange formats and there is a need to provide international perspectives at the home institution. The faculty set itself the goal of using virtual exchange in the bachelor's programme as an essential building block for promoting international and intercultural competencies. To achieve this goal, the programme planned a COIL pilot in the 2018/2019 academic year, which was designed and implemented as part of the MA23 project PAINT (Packaging Technology Goes International). The pilot served to analyze the potential that Virtual Exchange offers for the acquisition of international and intercultural competencies as well as professional skills in an international setting. The long-term goal of sustainably anchoring virtual exchange in the curriculum, further improving the course offerings, and ensuring the internationalisation of the teaching and learning environment for part-time students was supported by the successful piloting.

Background

> Temporary COIL pilot with the aim of expanding the activity to a permanent offering anchored in the curriculum. > Embedding of the pilot in the MA23 project PAINT (duration 2017-2021): Funding of the pilot through the 22nd call for proposals of the Viennese Universities of Applied Sciences funding "Internationalization of Teaching at Viennese Universities of Applied Sciences", funding of follow-up activities will be provided by the study program > Packaging Technology: Part-time Bachelor's programme at the Department of Applied Life Sciences (Faculty of Packaging and Resource Management) at FH Campus Wien University of Applied Sciences, followed by an English-taught Master's programme: Packaging Technology and Sustainability

(Implemented) Activities

> Virtual exchange was piloted together with a partner institution. The developed COIL pilot took place in cooperation with Stuttgart Media University (HdM – Hochschule der Medien). o Summer semester 2019 FH Campus Wien: BA Packaging Technology, course "Filling material characteristics and packaging requirements", 2nd semester, 6 ECTS, 30-40 students per semester. HdM Stuttgart: BA Packaging Technology, course "Interaction between packaged goods and packaging materials", 3rd semester, 6 ECTS, 25-30 students per semester. o The two institutions developed the COIL project together and integrated it into the selected course in their own curriculum. The lecturers coordinated the learning outcomes of the COIL project, their embedding in the selected courses and the adaptation of the didactic concept to the virtual teaching and learning environment. They divided the supervision of the students among themselves and developed a catalog of criteria for the assessment of the learning outcomes, which served as the basis for grading. o In the COIL project, students worked in cross-university, virtual small groups to produce a seminar paper and a scientific poster, and they also designed a project management concept. In addition to subject-specific skills, they also trained their intercultural skills, teamwork skills, working in diverse teams, and the use of project management tools. To ensure learning success, the groups were accompanied by an online course. The instructors regularly supervised the students in their learning progress. > For the implementation of the pilot test, the International Office organized individual coaching with an international COIL expert for the head of the study programme. > In addition, lecturers from the faculty took part in didactic training sessions on virtual exchange. They gained valuable knowledge about how virtual exchange can support international and intercultural learning and be embedded in the curriculum. > After completion of the first run, the pilot was evaluated and the extension to other courses was reviewed. Students generally evaluated the pilot project positively. > The results were presented in FH-wide events (Leadership Days, International Day), shared with FH Campus Wien executives and faculty, and served as inspiration for other courses. > Additional university collaborations for COIL projects were initiated.

Results

The evaluation of the COIL pilot showed that students value the exchange with international student groups and consider it profitable. Due to the successful implementation of the COIL pilot within the PAINT project, the Faculty of Packaging and Resource Management is currently working on the further expansion of the offer of virtual student exchange. The use of digital tools for the internationalisation of the teaching and learning environment is to be steadily expanded in the part-time bachelor's degree programme in packaging technology, and the respective activities are to be integrated into the formal curriculum in the form of learning outcomes so that all students are reached and the sustainability of the project's success is guaranteed. The initiation of additional cooperations for the expansion of virtual activities also proceeded successfully and resulted, among other things, in the planning of a virtual student challenge with Florida Gulf Coast University (USA) and the planning of a COIL project with San José State University (USA), which will raise virtual exchange endeavours to a global level. Several collaborations are also planned within Europe, including a COIL collaboration with Mid-Sweden University (Sweden) and blended mobility activities with SZE Packaging Laboratory, Györ (Hungary) and Université de Rouen Normandie (France). All the above activities are to be carried out on an ongoing basis.

Lessons learned

> When planning virtual exchange initiatives for the first time, consult those experienced in virtual exchange for advice on detailed planning. > To realize the potential of virtual exchange, it is particularly relevant to identify learning outcomes in the curriculum that are suitable for international student teams to work together. > A key success factor of virtual exchange is that lecturers coordinate well with each other and jointly design the didactic concept. Sufficient time should be planned for this phase of a virtual exchange project. > When implementing a virtual exchange project, good support for the students is essential, as they have to come to terms with a new form of learning and collaboration. In the packaging technology project, this was ensured by pre-communicated time windows in which lecturers were available to students online for consultation discussions. > A significant success factor is good structuring of the course in advance. This includes the development of clear guidelines and rules of engagement. Students are expected to be independent in this type of learning. The provision of a good framework and the incorporation of intermediate tasks, which must be handed in at clearly communicated deadlines while the project is still in progress, support the development of learning outcomes. The intermediate tasks to be completed ensure that students stay on track and receive continuous feedback. > Didactic training and personal coaching for lecturers planning virtual exchange projects make a significant contribution to ensuring that planned activities are also successfully implemented

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