scalable and low-resource Preparation And Debriefing Modules for students' Intercultural Competence development Abroad (PADMICA)

Many HEIs lack time and resources to equip outgoing students with essential knowledge and tools for dealing with interculturality abroad. Opportunities for reflection upon return also often remain...

Many HEIs lack time and resources to equip outgoing students with essential knowledge and tools for dealing with interculturality abroad. Opportunities for reflection upon return also often remain untapped. PADMICA aims to address those needs and will foster intercultural competences among outgoing students with a view to improving the quality of their mobility experience. Within the project, low-resource, practice-oriented and scalable preparation and debriefing measures are designed.

PADMICA will develop ready-made blended intercultural preparation and debriefing modules, that are rooted in intercultural education theory and hold up in different institutional settings and cultural contexts, targeting outgoing students. The project will also enable IRO/HEI staff to deliver those modules by implementing a train-the-trainer module, creating new in-house expertise. Finally, PADMICA aims to ensure accessibility, broad exploitation and sustainability of the materials across HEIs.

There is a clear demand for efficient and effective ways to raise cultural awareness and foster intercultural skills in mobile students. For HEIs, the implementation of the PADMICA modules for intercultural preparation and debriefing would mean a relatively small intervention, while thousands of outgoing students in turn could have a more profound mobility experience and grow interculturally. Likewise, IRO/HEI staff can further professionalize and improve their support of mobility processes.