Category: Business, Management and Leadership (Page 2 of 2)

Please note: This project description sets a very useful example for new COIL leaders

Faculty of Business and Law

School of Strategy and Leadership

Academic Year: 2020-21

Project Leaders: Rebecca Beech, Matthew Bennett

Partner University(s)/Organisation(s): Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (China)

Project Overview:

This COIL project ran with 2nd year Business and Management students at SSL, achieving in total 107 participants. During the project, modules were integrated which had relevance to the COIL. As the project discussed international trade and E-Commerce in China, two modules were incorporated – Contemporary Supply Chain Management and Management of E-Commerce. The synchronous COIL sessions were aligned to the modules content that specifically discussed the international perspective, which further increased student experience on the module and COIL as both sessions went hand-in-hand.

The project took place over three consecutive Mondays in March 2021, each 2-hour session was allocated at a time which suited both universities considering the differing time zones, which was 9-11am. As the sessions went on, the synchronous participation increased, the final session achieved 98 students in total. Each session covered a new topic. The first session was fantastic and can be a make-or-break session for students to continue on the virtual field trip. I believe that the first session was successful, as we provided students with the opportunity to speak to one another and to network. This was done via student pre-work, on the day the students shared their VLOGS of ‘a day of a life’ of them as a student in either Coventry or Guangzhou. Amazing stories were shared and bonded the group of students, so much so that a Wei Chat was created on the final session from demand of the students, so that they could keep in touch.

Alongside the synchronous sessions was an asynchronous platform, Open Moodle, which shared interesting content for the students to explore prior to the event, recordings of the sessions and further content to keep students entertained. A combined approach of both asynchronous and synchronous developed students’ experience and their willingness to contribute, network and have fun.

The purpose of leading this project was to deliver insights into the business world in China, expand students’ cultural awareness, provide an opportunity for students to connect, speak in real-time and make friends. Students further developed their interpersonal communication and team working skills during synchronous and asynchronous sessions. They received a COIL certificate as an output which demonstrates to employers their participation when working in an international project, cultural awareness and their status as a global citizen when entering the workplace. The students received points towards their Continuous Professional Development (CPD) module which further increased interest to participate.

I personally found leading the two projects very rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed working alongside my colleague Dr Matthew Bennet, as well as our partners and building a professional relationship with GDUF colleagues, Fred Parker, Fred Macrowitz and Dan Liu. I very much look forward to collaborating in the future.

Online Tools Used: Open Moodle, Padlet, Zoom

Tips from the project leader:

1. It is important to ensure that the COIL project is integrated within a module, this provides module leaders with the opportunity to imbed an authentic experience into their teaching and to encourage students to take part in an activity that brings their learning alive.
2. The COIL project would further benefit in participation numbers from students by being a formative assessment within a module.
3. It is paramount that groups of students at both sides are the same size group, level of learning and the aims and objectives of the project are appealing to both parties.
4. Assembling students together to participate in the project can be a challenging task, I believe that it is important to showcase the COIL regularly on platforms that are open to the students by sharing appealing information about the partner university or country and the key skills that they will develop as a result of participating.
5. As a virtual field trip is online it is essential that the COIL leader is familiar with using Zoom or MS Teams. Be aware of all the functions and potential challenges that you may incur, as once you go live and you are set to a specific time, then you have to be able to manage the flow of the session with no flaws and if a problem occurs, be able to rectify it quickly to no cost to the student experience.

Things to remember:

1. Giving students the opportunity to get to know each other by engaging them in an ice breaker is an important part of a COIL project and should take place before both groups of students are ‘thrown’ into a COIL activity.
2. SSL (School of Strategy and Leadership) students have a CPD (employability) module in all 3 years of the 3 main courses with 15 points allocation for COIL participation. Please contact the COIL Team if you require more information.

Faculty of Business and Law

International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship

Academic Year: 2020-21

Project Leader: Kemi Chukwuma-Nwuba

Partner University(s)/Organisation(s):

The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland

Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands)

Project Overview:

This project provides students with the opportunity to encourage the growth of their network. The online programme will include activities such as sharing personal/professional development as introverts or extroverts; some cultural issues to note in networking and how to successfully network for business and career purposes. Additionally, students will collaboratively work on improving their online credibility, visibility, social capital and brand building on LinkedIn in particular, as well as learn the etiquettes of other cultures which are important for successful personal and professional relationships. The project also involves a documentation of their reflective practices after each meeting.

The Business and Interpersonal Skills (BIS) project is our first COIL on the Developing Business Networking and Relationship Skills (A251IAE) module which is an Add+vantage. It is also the first COIL in ICTE’s (International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship) Add+vantage modules.

Despite the fact that the participants were at different levels of education (year 2 and 3 while also being on different programme studies) it was possible to design the programme to suit all the participants. This shows the malleability of
COIL. The adoption of this teaching/learning approach in this lockdown era,
made it possible for participants to engage, study and learn in a virtual
international environment. Despite the over one hundred participants across the
three universities, we were able to manage the project successfully by
leveraging technology, and social media platforms to enrich our students’
knowledge.

Statement from a student who took part:

The COIL project has helped me find new ways to introduce my personal
brand to different people from different countries. I was able to interact with
people from different cultures and different interests easily through this project.
My idea of networking has evolved because of this project as well. It has also
helped me make new friends.

Faculty of Business and Law

School of Marketing and Management

Academic Year: 2020-21

Project Leader: Omar Abou Hamdan

Partner University(s)/Organisation(s): MindShift Training (United Arab Emirates), Gulf Modern Contracting (United Arab Emirates), PMO-Project Management Office(Canada)

Project Overview:

This project enabled Coventry University students to ask some important questions about intercultural teams, management and leadership from an HR perspective which were then addressed by the CEO of an innovative business consultancy and corporate training firm MindShift Training, Shadi Kuzam, who shared with the students his 15 years of leadership experience between Canada and United Arab Emirates.

Having participated in this project, the students were not only able to reflect on and evaluate such aspects as status differences or principles that shape team members’ interactions, but also explore some competencies which are developed while people shift between different cultures in the work context.

As a result, they enhanced their understanding of leadership roles and strategies for intercultural teams in terms of intercultural awareness and communication, as well as emotional intelligence.

Statement from a student who took part:

“Throughout the class and COIL project, I learned various types of leaders depend on the industry and considered what I can do to be a ‘good’ leader in the future”.

Online Tools Used: Email, Zoom, Padlet, Microsoft Teams

Faculty of Business and Law

School of Strategy and Leadership

Academic Year: 2020-21

Project Leader: Sathees Kunjuthamby

Partner University(s)/Organisation(s): HRW Hochschule Ruhr West (Germany)

Project Overview:

Prof. Dr. Isabel Lausberg (HRW) and Sathees Kunjuthamby (Coventry University) organised and led this COIL project between November 2020 and January 2021, which offered students from HRW and CU a lot of scope to work jointly to achieve a common goal: the development of a virtual student conference.

Eight groups were formed consisting of German and UK students with the task of analysing a company of their choice using at least one key strategic analysis tool. The focus of the analysis was in relation to the current COVID19 pandemic. The findings were presented at the virtual conference “Strategic Management in turbulent times”, which was organised, hosted and led by the students. The virtual student conference consisted of two keynote speakers, eight presentations, roundtable discussions and two best – paper awards. Using HRW’s official Youtube channel, this event was streamed live to the public.

Online Tools Used: Email, Padlet, Microsoft Teams

Supporting URLs:

https://www.hochschule-ruhr-west.de/coil-conference/

Publications that emerged from this COIL:

Lausberg, I., Kunjuthamby, S. & Kaehler, K. (2021). ‘Mit COIL Studierende fit für die Zukunft machen’ in: Die Neue Hochschule DNH, Heft 2, Jahrgang 2021, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, S. 12 -15

Things to remember:

1. Please contact the COIL Team if you would like an electronic version of your project leaflet.
2. Project leaflet can be used to advertise your project to both Coventry University and partner university students.

Faculty of Business and Law

School of Marketing and Management

Academic Year: 2020-21

Project Leaders: Sharon Southcott, Edward Turner, Tony Halkyard, Georgina Whyatt, Simon Cooper

Partner University(s)/Organisation(s): X-Culture Organisation

Project Overview:

X-Culture is a global initiative that enables students from across the globe to address real business challenges. Students are placed into cross institutional teams and have to adapt to all the challenges of operating virtually within the global business environment. With weekly deadlines students must plan their time accordingly to submit weekly reports which combine into one final report, addressing the real business challenge they have identified. The reports are then sent to the organisations and awards are given for the best.

Within the School of Marketing and Management X-Culture has been embedded into multiple modules across the school. Students praise the fast paced nature of the project and the ability to work on projects that have real managerial impact.

Online Tools Used: Email, Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype