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“Crossing your boundaries by making the unknown familiar”: international or intercultural experiences in the higher education sector in Belgium
By Dirk Van Waelderen, Mobility Coordinator, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, www.hubrussel.be/english
Nowadays there are many ways for students to gain an international experience
before they start their careers. The most
common way in Europe is probably the
Erasmus programme which offers study
exchanges or traineeships. In this European programme students stay abroad for at
least several months.
The advantages of an international experience are manifold. According to many
studies on the impact of a student exchange, the students improve their cultural and creative reflexes, their linguistic
proficiency and their international skills.
Complementing the educational gains
are the advantages obtained when entering the labour market.[1] It is vital in the
training of students to broaden their familiar surroundings by crossing the traditional boundaries of their study or living environment. By learning to think outside the
box, students are then able to achieve the
foundations of an enhanced creativity and
innovation.[2]
There are several ways of reaching the
above-mentioned pedagogical goals attributed to an international and intercultural experience. Unfortunately, not every
student has the financial means for an extended period of studying abroad. Nor is it
possible for every degree programme in a
university to send students for a long term
abroad.
Many institutions have therefore developed additional methods or programmes
for their students to gain an international
and intercultural experience. Some have
created short-term programmes abroad
of one week duration, including business
weeks and short-term research projects
abroad. Other institutions have developed
programmes for students without sending them abroad. In traditional terminology, these programmes are mostly covered
by the term “Internationalisation at Home
(IaH)”.[3]
It is our intention to give a brief overview
of how some IaH programmes are implemented, and also to show how in Belgium,
with its multiple linguistic and cultural
communities, many institutions of higher
education gratefully use the possibilities
of this complex multicultural country to
enhance their level of internationalisation.
Before discussing alternatives for the classic international student exchange it is relevant to give a brief overview of the classic
student exchange programme in Belgium.
8
Volume 4, Issue 2, 2012
The country is divided into three cultural
and linguistic communities; the Flemish
community (Dutch-speaking), the French
community and the German-speaking
community. Brussels has a unique position
since both the French community and the
Flemish community are responsible for education and cultural life in that city. Connected to these communities there are
three national agencies for European educational programmes.[4]
There has been, since the implementation
of the Erasmus programme in Belgium, a
steady increase in the number of exchanges. Since 2009, as in many other European countries, there has been a growth of
5 – 7 % in Belgian student exchanges. In
2009 – 2010 there were 6336 outgoing
Erasmus students (Student Mobility Study
(SMS) and Student Mobility Placement
(SMP) combined), 2815 students from the
French–speaking community and 3521
students from the Flemish Community.
These numbers are similar to the average
amongst the other participating Erasmus
countries. [5] Still if we look at these figures
it is clear that many students aren’t participating in an outbound international experience and that there have to be other local
alternatives.
Internationalization at Home offers in
many forms an alternative to outbound
international exchange. As mentioned
above there are many examples of internationalization at home.
• The (virtual) international classroom
A basic international classroom can be
achieved by mixing students of different
nationalities, by choosing for instruction
a non-native language (which turns out in
many cases to be the lingua franca “English”), and by creating an appropriate programme. By doing these things, one can
create the perfect educational environment to reach the attitude and cognitive
goals of internationalization. Unfortunately setting up an international classroom
with a mixed international audience and
adapted programme can put a strain on
the budget of a university, but this doesn’t
always have to be so. An international
classroom doesn’t necessarily imply a lot
of logistics, since it can also be organised
in a virtual environment via the internet.
Especially in the current world of blogs
and social networking, the concept of a
virtual international classroom has been
drastically simplified. [6]
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• Curriculum development and international degrees
An institution can decide to work on its international profile by developing courses
with an international character, or starting up entirely new degree programmes
focusing on both the home and the international market. An interesting, but more
complicated method of curriculum development is joint curriculum development
with international partner institutions.
Joint curriculum development combines
internationalisation at home with more
intense cooperation between institutions
than the classic exchange programme.[7]
• International staff
Increasing the internationalization level
and enhancing students’ familiarity with
other cultures can also be achieved by attracting international staff as permanent
lecturers or administrative staff. In the
Flemish community where most administrative offices are run in Dutch, the latter
is often a problem because of the limited
knowledge of Dutch by foreign administrators. Foreign lecturers can either come
for a short period within e.g. the Erasmus
exchange, or they can come for a more extended period and be put on the payroll.
In most cases the lectures will be in English or another language accessible to both
students and lecturers.
Offering courses in another language then
Dutch is, however, limited in the Flemish
institutions of Higher education due to
the historical, protective legislation regulating use of the Dutch language. Under
pressure from international competition
in education, this legislation is being loosened. Also in the French community, there
has been a movement towards organising
more programmes or courses in English in
recent years.
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English-taught courses in institutions of
higher education are attractive to many international lecturers. This is especially so
in Brussels, where institutions have a pool
of highly trained European specialists. Student contact with foreign lecturers or foreign administrators enhances their understanding of differences in culture. [8]
• International week
Related to the previous item is the idea of
an international week. In Hogeschool –
Universiteit Brussel, we organise an international week on a yearly base. This can be
either with an extensive programme open
for non – educational organisations or it
can be with a focus on attracting international staff from partner universities. In the
latter case we combine student-related activities (international meals, parties, etc.),
a programme for international staff, and
promotion of partner institutions for future outgoing students; all at a large country fair, called the Global Village. Despite
the intensive use of infrastructure and
the extra burden for the staff, the international week brings an international awareness to the institution during which the
students and the staff of the home country have an opportunity to be acquainted
with other (inter)national cultures. Additionally to or parallel with the international
week the university can stress cooperation
with a specific country or a specific institution by giving more academic information
in classes, decorating common halls of the
institution, and serving special snacks or
beverages. The whole concept creates an
international and intercultural “ethos” at
the institution. [9]
• International students, former exchange
students and a buddy system
The use of students to increase the international mindfulness of other students is a
direct and highly effective approach. Students are more responsive to other fellow
students. When an institution wants to improve its internationalisation level and the
international and multicultural level of the
students, the role of international students
or former exchange students is essential.
International exchange programmes with
their clientele of international students
will boost an international presence in the
institution. Another method of allowing
students to access an international experience through other students is to set up
a buddy system, where local students become mentors or guides for new international students. This buddy system is often difficult to implement on a large scale
and the few volunteers are often the same
people who are already interested in an
international experience in the first place:
future and former exchange students. In
some institutions the buddy system is provided by the local I*ESN (International/
Erasmus Student Network) section, an international student organisation with sections in most European countries. An I*ESN
- section and the active membership of
students in it offers students a voluntary
way of gaining an international experience while studying at a higher institution.
The same can be said of the international
student organisation AIESEC (“Association
Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences
Economiques et Commerciales”), which
is more specialised in the organisation of
international traineeships for fellow students. Within the AIESEC context, international competencies and professional experiences are the common goal. [10]
• In Brussels, as in many other capitals, the
diverse ethnic population of the city is also
partially reflected in the origins of stu“The proximity of the exchange
destination unfortunately can also
be its downfall. Students can decide
not to participate in the programme
exactly because of it.”
dents in the educational landscape.
The presence in Brussels of a large immigrant population from former colonies,
from the Maghreb and from other European countries, creates a multicultural environment not only in class, but also in the
world outside the school. Unfortunately,
the large multicultural community of Brussels, a city where approximately 50% of
the inhabitants come from a non-Belgian
background, isn’t reflected in the institutions of higher education. The cultural diversity of a city can therefore provide an
added value to the international or intercultural experience of students. [11]
These different types of IaH are probably
the most common forms in institutions
of higher education around the world. In
addition to the above mentioned forms
of IaH, there are many other possibilities
which haven’t been included in this brief
overview. For Belgian institutions there is
an additional form of IaH - exchange within Belgium between the different communities. Although one might question if this
experience really is “at home” or if it is really “international”, or should it be classified under “outbound”? The following description will clarify that it can be at home,
international and outbound at the same
time.
There are several types of exchanges between the different Belgian communi-
Volume 4, Issue 2, 2012
ties. A student can decide to follow a
few isolated courses or “cours isolés” offered by a university of another community within the framework of a bilateral
agreement between the institutions involved. Students taking such courses are
still able to follow the bulk of the courses at their home institution, while being
dipped into the different cultural and education world of another community.[12]
Another way of exchanging students between the communities is the Erasmus
Belgica programme. This programme offers exchanges of both Belgian students
and Belgian staff arranged according to
Erasmus regulations, and combined with
modest financial support in the form of individual scholarships. The programme offers an interesting alternative for students
who can’t for personal or academic reasons stay abroad for a long period. In the
case of Erasmus Belgica, the students can
still commute although they lose part of
their scholarship. For some students who
are insecure and fear being abroad, the exchange to another community is a “safe” alternative. It often is the stepping stone for
a second exchange abroad. The proximity
of the exchange destination unfortunately
can also be its downfall. Students can decide not to participate in the programme
exactly because of it. Other students don’t
want the additional burden of courses in
another language when the cultural surrounding is still familiar, although different. Proximity and the lack of exotic attraction might explain why the programme
hasn’t yet reached the same popularity of
other exchange programmes like Erasmus,
but it can count on an increasing number
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of students. In 2009-2010 there were 119
students from the Flemish community and
264 students from the French-speaking
community who participated in the programme. Unfortunately the budget of the
programme has decreased since 2010. The
concept of this kind of exchange might be
interesting for other countries with regional differences and governments. [13]
9
As with international exchange programmes, “regional” exchange students
can also fear possible organisational and
academic problems. Some of this anxiety
can be avoided by the development of a
joint multilingual degree between two
institutions of two communities. In this
case the programme, the course schedule, transfer of results and course credits is
pre-arranged in the degree. The students
become exchange students in a joint degree located in separated institutions
from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. They reach the cognitive and attitude goals specific to internationalisation
without being too far from home. In the
case of Brussels they can stay in the same
city while being confronted with a different form of education and a culturally diverse classroom. [14]
After examining some methods of IaH, it
has become clear that in Belgium, despite
a popular and successful international programme like Erasmus, there are other ways
of gaining an international or intercultural experience. Similar to other countries
there are the classic forms of IaH, like curriculum development, the international classroom, etc. Additionally there is the
alternate form of exchanges between the
different linguistic and cultural communities: the “EaH” or the “Exchange at Home”
through programmes such as Erasmus Belgica or through cooperation agreements
between the different institutions. Exchange between local communities is definitely an effective way of gaining a better
understanding of other teaching methods,
from another cultural and linguistic community.
[4] Portal Belgium.be official Information and servic-
ting,
es,
http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/govern-
aspx&LangType=2067; AEF – Europe, http://www.aef-eu-
ment/communities/, 2009; For the Flemish community
rope.be/documents/AEF2009rapport.pdf, Brussels, 2010,
the agency is called “Epos” an acronym for “Europese Pro-
p.69.
gramma’s voor Onderwijs, Opleiding en Samenwerking
[14] An example of this kind of cooperation is the creation
(European Programmes for Education, Training and Co-
of the Law – degree between FUSL, HUB and KULeuven;
operation)”. The French community has got the AEF- Eu-
Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, http://www.hubrussel.
rope or the “Agence francophone pour l’éducation et la
be/HUB/HUB_web/HUB-Nederlands/HUB-Nederlands-
formation tout au long de la vie (French agency for the
Nieuwsberichten/Nieuws-actueel/HUB_ ALGEMEEN_
lifelong learning education and training)”. The German
NIEUWS/NIEUW_rechtenopleiding_in_het_Nederlands_
speaking agency is called the ”Agentur für Europäische
en_het_Frans.html, 2011.
Bildungsprogramme (The agency for European Training
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4, Issue 2, 2012
10 Volume
http://www.kbs-frb.be/start.aspx?goto=/index.
,
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