Abstract:

Santander Universities Global Division is an initiative of Santander Bank of a global range with an objective to support the academic world as far as higher education and scientific researches are concerned. There are over 1.000 universities that participate in the program, including 44 Polish academic centers. Among the program participants is Wrocław University of Technology (WUT), one of the top universities in the rankings of the higher education in Poland. The participation in this program is possible due to financial support of Bank Zachodni WBK (BZ WBK), which belongs to the Santander Group.

The aim of this presentation is to describe an internal project “Santander Universidades” which is being developed at Foreign Language Department (FLD) of WUT. The author discusses the project activities related to Spanish teaching, intercultural education and the promotion of Spanish language and the culture of Spanish speaking countries.

According to the conditions of cooperation between BZ WBK and WUT in the project take part the chosen students from Faculties of Computer Science and Management, Fundamental Problems of Technology and Electronics. The program gives them an unique chance to develop their language and social skills, which increase their chances in the labour market, e. g. of being employed in BZ WBK or in departments of Santander Bank all over the world.

The students participate in a free 3-semester Spanish course which is conducted in an efficient blended learning method – besides the classes with an academic teacher, students may take part in a process of individual learning on the Internet platform – Aula Virtual de Español (AVE) – that is accessible due to the Instituto Cervantes.

The presentation shows a series of actions promoting the culture of Spanish speaking countries and shaping the intercultural abilities of students: organization of cultural events, language contests, festive meetings, encounters with Spanish speaking students, participation in cultural events, e. g. art exhibitions.

The author presents as well an unique tool for intercultural education: Students' Passage, elaborated and developed by FLD of WUT, that students may use and create.

The presentation may be an inspiration to teach and promote Spanish teaching at universities by being part of the global network of Santander Universities.

Keywords:

Intercultural education.