Today, on September 30, 2024, a seminar titled “Getting Ready for COIL” was held at the “Learning Without Limits” coworking center of Khmelnytskyi National University. The event was organized at the initiative and with the support of the Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology, Prof. Tetiana Hovorushchenko, and was aimed at interested faculty members and educational program guarantors of the Faculty of Information Technology. The seminar was conducted by Assoc. Prof. Iryna Zasornova, Acting Head of the Department of Computer Engineering and Information Systems, who recently participated in the summer school “Internationalization at Home Through Virtual Exchange: Creating a Motivating Environment for Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) III” hosted by Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland.
The seminar was opened by Prof. Tetiana Hovorushchenko, Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology, who emphasized the importance of applying various internationalization practices, including virtual COIL exchanges, to enhance the quality of education. She also stressed the need to align with sustainable development principles in the educational process and to use interactive and modern teaching methods to boost student engagement. Additionally, she noted that one of the key benefits of virtual COIL exchanges for future IT professionals—who are being trained at the Faculty—is the opportunity to develop teamwork and intercultural communication skills in a diverse, geographically dispersed environment, as well as to improve their English communication skills.
During the seminar, Iryna Zasornova focused on several essential aspects of preparing for COIL exchanges, such as project design, familiarization with different COIL formats, and leveraging the opportunities and addressing the challenges of interdisciplinary COIL courses. The seminar also covered issues such as adapting traditional teaching to future educational trends, selecting effective tools for intercultural online collaboration, understanding the range of COIL exchange possibilities, and offering strategies for both instructors and students to overcome educational barriers within COIL projects. Participants were also introduced to best international practices of COIL exchanges. The seminar’s motto, voiced by Iryna Zasornova, was: “Draw inspiration to integrate COIL into your educational components!”
After the seminar, an engaging discussion took place among the faculty and the speaker on the necessity and potential of COIL exchanges, as well as on the most suitable technologies and teaching methods for their implementation.
We sincerely thank all the departments that participated in this engaging and meaningful seminar!
