GLOBALWORKIT – CONNECTING LEADING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SECTORS

GlobalWorkIT prepares European and Korean students for employment in the international information and communications technology (ICT) industry by enhancing understanding of global issues in the ICT sector and of the languages and cultures of the participant countries. It connects three European and three Korean Higher Education Institutions located in world-leading ICT sectors (Korea, Ireland, Germany and Finland) and leverages their relationships with ICT companies that are innovation-focused and internationally-oriented. In this paper, we present GlobalWorkIT and discuss how it will build an EU-Korea network of ICT professionals to underpin trade between the two regions, secure industry sponsorship for future mobilities and enhance co-operation between the education partners and ICT companies.

The paper introduces the four primary activities involved in GlobalWorkIT, which are:
(1) An integrated EU-Korea student mobility programme with industry experience.

This includes:
(i) industry experience with an innovation-oriented and internationally focused ICT multinational or small and medium enterprise (SME) company, or research institute
(ii) accredited modules in specialist computer science topics
(iii) Cultural and linguistic training in the Korean and English language and
(vi) cultural studies training. The student mobility target is four months’ duration in any semester each year.

(2) An online module – ’The Global Classroom’. A unique feature of GlobalWorkIT is the semester-long Global Classroom module, which is delivered online across time zones, countries and cultures and is unique and innovative. Delivered by the School of Computing at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in its Bachelor in Computer Science (International) programme, it aims to mimic the experience of workers in the international ICT industry. The student’s international experiences are captured by using work practices in the global ICT industry (e.g. teleconferencing, time differences, project management in geographically distributed context, etc.,). The module is fully accredited and formally assessed and students of multiple nationalities take the module. It will be available to all students participating in the mobilities between the EU and Korean participant institutions. This will extend the reach of the Global Classroom to allow for an ‘internationalisation at home experience’ for students who cannot travel abroad for personal, financial, health or other reasons.

(3) An internationalised curriculum in Computer Science. Over the course of the cooperation between the EU and Korean partners, a new internationalised curriculum leading to a joint double degree will be developed. Experiences captured, for example innovative curricula, new teaching methods, real world case studies, etc., will inform the development of this double degree.

(4) A faculty mobility programme. The faculty mobility programme will support the student mobility programme, the delivery of the Global Classroom module and the development of internationalised computer science curriculum.