LEMONOC Newsletter
In practice
The network aims to inspire sustainable and reciprocal Learning mobility. For this purpose a set of guiding criteria were elaborated and ordered in the LEMONOC Matrix. This section makes these criteria concrete through examples and good practices.
The University College of Leiden (NL) developed seven international minors open for exchange students and undergraduates from diverse bachelor’s and master’s. The minor Global awareness is a UNESCO-school and contains a 12-week internship in southern countries. During this minor students work on intercultural competences, such as open mindedness, empathy, cultural awareness, creativity and pro-activity.
The minor can be considered as a good practice because of her multidisciplinary approach; her focus on in-site and severe selected local projects; her decent preparation program and the broad range of assessment forms. The preparation program includes courses on a.a. development cooperation, human rights, sustainability, globalization, cultural diversity, vulnerable groups and participatory approaches. On top students work on graduate attributes such as self-analysis, teamwork, intercultural communication, critical sense and entrepreneurship. During their internship students work within local communities in small groups in cooperation with local professionals. Sustainability, inclusiveness and appropriateness are three main principles of the minor. After returning to the Netherlands students pass various reflection sessions, assessments, presentations and exams, individual and group during the completion program.
Sabine Zuidhoek, fourth-year student in Applied Psychology, testifies about her internship at the Leri for Life project in Suriname: “The great involvement within the organization and its vision really touch me. The unique thing about this placement is that you learn to complete your own tasks while working within a team of people whom you start to consider family. You live and work together with people from different cultures. Living in the jungle is impressive, breathtaking and incredibly beautiful. It really is ‘back to basics’. You learn a lot about yourself while being able to give back something beautiful!”
Featuring
The LEMONOC network is a part of a broader movement working on sharing expertise and experiences between the Global North and Global South. This rubric features a particular organization, network or initiative that works on mutual learning.
Each year students of lower incomes countries study in Europe. The Lemonoc team undertook a deep interview with Benson Erabor Aghughu. He is one of the students of Postgraduate Certificate International Education Class (PIEC) in Louvain (Belgium)
According to him learning the cultural shock for students from the global south is often underestimated. Aghughu found for example the closed mindset of Europeans difficult. “You often have the feeling that you are invading someone’s private space,” he said. Therefore sufficient information about the dissimilarities in environment and is needed. This implies not only knowledge about the host country, but also a clear view on where you are coming from.
Next to an open mindset an international student should be able to set goals and be aware of his own learning abilities. “If you don’t have the knowledge of where you’re going to and what you want to achieve, then it just won’t work,” Aghughu says, and: “if you want to be successful during your exchange situation, you have to be willing to become part of the system.”
The most powerful experience concerning Aghughu is the confrontation with people form completely different parts of the world. “Learning about different countries and cultures is a great way to expand your mind.” According to him everybody should work on a sense of global citizenship: “only then we would live in a free world, without discrimination or racism.” His most important tip to foreign students is therefore: commit yourself to engage in conversations.
Review
The LEMONOC-team likes to share experiences, insights and literature. This section reports on conferences, publications and events.
In its annual Education at a Glance report (2015) the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports also on international student mobility. The main finding is that there is a spectacular rise in global learning. The number of foreign tertiary students enrolled worldwide increased by 50% between 2005 and 2012 and 5 million students were enrolled outside of their home countries in 2014. These numbers include various forms of learning programs such as distance education, international internships, training experiences, cross border academic programs and offshore satellite campuses.
China and India are the world’s first and second-largest source markets of outgoing students. The US on is the most prominent destination country. Nevertheless, while absolute numbers of foreign students in America increase, its market share has fallen. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom together receive more than 50% of all international students worldwide.
The report notes that educators should cherish the fact of a augmented diversity in student population. The substantial revenues that can be earned by expanding education and economic and political considerations prompted more and more governments and institutions worldwide to make major efforts to attract students from outside their national borders. If internationalization will keep growing as quickly as it has, diversity in higher education will be standard. We should consider the consequences for our actual education system.
Calls, discussion & Adds
The LEMONOC network is willing to challenge comments, potentials and ideas from stakeholders. All kind of announcements, discussions, notices, calls are getting place in this section.
The LEMONOC team has developed a training session for professionals involved in learning mobility in the global South. On 12 May 2016, we offer a selection of sessions by experts on community development and action research.
In addition, LEMONOC aims to become a community of practice, open to all stakeholders in learning mobility who wish to discuss trends, opportunities and challenges, and share their ideas and experiences. On 13 May 2016, we plan a ‘kick-off’ meeting in which all potential partners can brainstorm together about the fundamentals of a sustainable cooperation in the field of learning mobility.