Successful Global Classrooms are built on a solid partnership between faculty at both institutions. If you are interested in the Global Classroom model but do not yet have a teaching partner in mind, here are some suggested first steps to get you started:
- Take stock of your own existing network of contacts, some of whom may be international. You may also consider tapping into the network of your close colleagues. Many faculty engage in research or scholarly and professional activities with collaborators abroad but may not have previously considered engaging in a teaching project together. Working with someone on a Global Classroom with whom you have interacted before, and whose working style you are already familiar with may increase the likelihood of a successful collaboration.
- Leverage the network of institutions and organizations around the world with which UCSC has already cultivated relationships:
- Explore GlobalConnect, a database of UCSC partnerships and collaborations. Begin with a search here to see whether there are institutions already working with UCSC in another capacity that you may wish to reach out to for a COIL/VE project.
- Contact George Sabo, Director of Global Initiatives for assistance with making contact with potential partner faculty at UCSC partner institutions, and/or through a variety of other international education networks. To help you in the outreach process, please first prepare a very brief synopsis of your project idea, including:
- Your UCSC course title and what term (quarter/year) it will be offered
- Likely number of students who will enroll
- Language of instruction (and possible target language)
- Your interest in working with specific disciplines, regions, or countries
- Your goals and motivations for introducing a COIL/VE module to your course
International Education Networks for Finding a Partner
SUNY COIL Center Global Network
Class2Class (on the ImmerseU platform) is a tool that helps to facilitate connections between like-minded faculty seeking partners with whom to develop and implement a COIL/VE project in their respective courses. This tool could be useful for helping you to generate partner leads for your Global Classroom project. You can create an account and profile under the UC Santa Cruz institution, with a brief description of the collaboration you envision for your Global Classroom.
An initiative of the COIL Virtual Exchange Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation authorized in the State of New York, led by former SUNY COIL Center founder, Jon Rubin. UCSC faculty can post their course synopses here when seeking partners for COIL/VE projects.
AMPEI Program for the Internationalization of the Curricula United States- México
- The international education association in Mexico is currently hosting a series of its own COIL design workshops throughout the year. The list of participating universities in Mexico is here.
- AMPEI also periodically sends out a bulletin of faculty contacts in Mexico who are trained in COIL and seeking partners for developing COIL courses. See here for the most recent bulletin I have for fall 2021/spring 2022. Some of these individuals may also be interested in discussing a future COIL/VE project with you.
Maintains a list of institutions actively engaged in COIL in Japan. UCSC currently maintains student exchange agreements w/ University of Tokyo, Sophia University, and University of the Ryukyus – all members of this association.
Other Networks:
- Asia-Pacific Association of International Education (APAIE)
- European Association of International Education (EAIE)
- Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU)
- FAUBAI (Brazil)
- NAFSA (Association of International Educators)
- American Council on Education (ACE)
- Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA)