Arqus invites educators to participate in the “Virtual Exchange and Blended Mobility in university education” online workshops

Arqus is launching a new series of online workshops named “Virtual Exchange and Blended Mobility in University Education,” aimed at helping educators create collaborative, international learning experiences for students. The workshops will take place online from 27 November to 11 December 2024. 

This programme is open to educators in all fields, including STEM, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The series runs over three weeks and includes live online sessions with additional reading activities. It introduces two key teaching tools: Virtual Exchange (VE), which helps students work on intercultural projects online with international partners, and Blended Mobility, which combines in-person exchange with online collaboration. These workshops will help educators gain the skills to guide students in intercultural, collaborative projects, adding a global dimension to their courses.

What to expect?

Led by renowned educator Professor Robert O’Dowd of Universidad de León, Spain, each online workshop lasts 2 hours, with a high component of discussion and application of concepts so that participants can implement the specific methodology or technology and be aware of the benefits and potential pitfalls.

In Workshop 1 “Introduction to Virtual Exchange and Blended Mobility” (27 November), participants will learn what VE and Blended Mobility are, with examples of projects from different subject areas.

In Workshop 2 “Tasks and tools for collaborative learning” (4 December), the focus will be on designing effective tasks for online collaboration. Participants will also discuss the best communication tools for these projects.

In Workshop 3 “Integration and Assessment of Virtual Exchange and Blended Mobility” (11 December), participants will explore how to assess student work in VE and Blended Mobility, how to integrate these projects into their courses, and how to build partnerships within their university networks.

Participants who successfully participate in all workshops will be able to explain how VE and Blended Mobility work and how they are being implemented in university contexts; outline the potential learning outcomes of VE and Blended Mobility for their students, design tasks for their Virtual Exchange which are relevant to their subject area, and much more.

Who should attend?

This course is ideal for educators from all disciplines looking to internationalise their teaching and prepare students for a global workforce. It is also relevant for International Office staff interested in advancing VE and Blended Mobility programmes at their institutions. While a high level of digital competence is not required, participants should be open to exploring new online tools and technologies.

The course will be conducted in English, and participants will gain hands-on experience with various online platforms and tools for collaborative learning. Opportunities to connect with peers from similar disciplines will be provided through breakout activities and discussion sessions.

About the trainer

Professor Robert O’Dowd brings extensive expertise to this course, having taught at universities across Ireland, Germany, and Spain. His research focuses on the integration of Virtual Exchange in higher education, and his work includes publications such as Internationalising Higher Education and the Role of Virtual Exchange (Routledge, 2023). Professor O’Dowd has been instrumental in advancing educational innovation through his involvement in high-impact Erasmus+ projects. For more information and to register for the course, visit the course website.

Workshop series details:

Total hours: 9 (6 contact hours via video conferencing and 3 offline hours for reading and asynchronous engagement). Max. number of participants: 20. Participants who are able to participate in all of the workshops will be given priority for participation.

Dates and times:

• 27 November, 16:00-18:00 CET
• 4 December, 17:00-19:00 CET
• 11 December, 16:00-18:00 CET

Course website and materials: Course website.

The link to the meeting will be provided by the facilitators and will only be sent to registered participants.