Coventry’s Cathedral recently proved to be the perfect backdrop for the CU Internationalisation Team from the faculty of Business, Environment and Society to receive the International Initiative accolade during the Coventry Excellence Awards.
Danny Ryan ( Deputy Head of Department), Albina Szeles (Intercultural Engagement Manager, CGE), Steve Jewell (Senior Lecturer in SAM), Ryan Beasley (Internationalisation Administrator), Katrina McGillycuddy ( Internationalisation Administrator), Xavier Pierron (Course Director International Programmes) and Neville Clements (Head of Sports and Events Management) were all part of the team nominated by Donald Finlay (Associate Dean for CPD and Internationalisation) for “A Case Study in the Internationalisation of Higher education: A Benchmark of Transformative Practice: Coventry University and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia”.
Within this Case Study, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TARUC) and the Faculty of Business Environment and Society are currently delivering the first year of their Dual Award Programme consisting of five business and finance courses for over 400 students in Malaysia.
As part of this programme, TARUC Dual Award students are able to choose the Study Abroad Programm, allowing them to study a semester in Coventry in January or May. This year 111 from the 400 opted in for the Study Abroad Programme, and this figure is expected to rise to around 200 for the upcoming 2015/16 academic year.
The winning Internationalisation Team with partners from TARUC, Malaysia.
The Dual Award Programme is supported by both academic staff and professional services staff in the Internationalisation Team. Led by Danny Ryan, Coventry University courses are mapped by academic staff to ensure the learning outcomes are consistent in both institutions, while Albina’s team support the administration of the curriculum and provide students with a wealth of extra-curricular activities designed to enhance the ‘International and Cultural Experience’. This has included day trips to UK destinations such as London, Stratford and Liverpool; a 6 week sports programme in conjunction with Sport Coventry; a non-credit-bearing critical reflection on cultural differences entitled ‘Intercultural Competence Assignment’ and the ASSET programme based on employability initiative delivered by Andrew Amayo (Lecturer in Employability for International Student) in CGE.
Coventry University have recently had visits from the Dean, Associate Dean and Deputy Dean for the Faculty of Accountancy, finance and Business at TARUC as part of the validation process and have reported that the Malaysian students have “enjoyed the difference in teaching and learning at Coventry” and that they are “very happy with the level of support professional and academic staff offer”.
The partnership also offers outward mobility for Coventry University staff and students with several field trips, validations, inductions and exams boards taking place throughout the year, and will continue to support an international experience to align itself within the University.
To deliver a project of this size in its first year without any major problems is a significant achievement and The Internationalisation Team would like to thank everyone from CU who has been involved in this project from lecturers to Accommodation, Registry, Sports Centre and Students’ Union, CGE, APU and other members of staff across CU who have helped build a solid foundation for future growth.