Abstract:

In September 2014, the School of Computing at DIT (Dublin Institute of Technology) was awarded EU (European Union) funding from the EU-ICI (European Union - Industrialised Countries Instrument) – ECP (Education Cooperation Programme) with the Republic of Korea. The funding enabled a three-year project called GlobalWorkIT, which facilitated student mobilities for one semester between European and Korean higher education partner institutions. These mobilities would enable students to gain a better understanding of the global ICT industry, employment prospects abroad, use of a foreign language and learn the cultures in a different country. The project connected three European and three Korean Higher Education Institutions in Ireland, Germany, Finland and Korea, where DIT was the lead European partner. As well as facilitating student and a small number of faculty exchanges, GlobalWorkIT was a catalyst for developing double-degree programmes between the European and Korean partner institutions, which would facilitate sustainability between the partners following the conclusion of the project.

The GlobalWorkIT project concluded in September 2017. In this paper, the successful outcomes and results of this internationally-oriented project between the EU and Korean partners will be presented. The paper will also demonstrate how a strong EU-Korea network of educational institutions at the heart of GlobalWorkIT has offered exchange students opportunities that include:
(i) an internationalised curriculum in computer science,
(ii) cultural awareness,
(iii) linguistic training and
(iv) a unique, group-based online module called The Global Classroom, which simulates the experience of developing a large software application in the ICT industry.

Projects such as GlobalWorkIT show how global strategic third-level alliances benefit faculty members as well as students. Faculty gain a better understanding of a student’s perception of an international exchange and can therefore design undergraduate and postgraduate programmes with curricula that incorporate a strong international focus. The Global Classroom has been a key building-block in the success of the GlobalWorkIT project and some of the outcomes presented in this paper will show how this unique module has provided added value to the student exchange experience that could never be delivered in the traditional classroom.

Keywords:

GlobalWorkIT, Global Classroom, Higher Education, EU, Korea, ICT, Internationalisation, student, exchange, culture.