Multidisciplinary International Project (10 cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Content scheduling

These multimodal course modules will be focused on the core skill the students should achieve, i.e. improve their language skills in order to communicate effectively in the working environment; improve/gain intercultural competences that are very important for working in international teams; learn how to communicate online properly using formal language in synchronous as well as asynchronous learning/working environments; learn how to work in virtual teams effectively. The online course will also provide students with guidelines and methods on how they should work together from the project management point of view and give them some guidelines/steps (they will follow) on Engineering Design.

This multimodal course will contain 4 modules:
· M1 Language and intercultural communication
· M2 Online communication and virtual teams
· M3 Engineering Design
· M4 Project management

Kick-off week OCT 2020 VIRTUALLY
Final week 17 May -21 May 2021 in Mons, Belgium

Changes are possible!

Objective

After completing the course, the student is able to:
- understand others and make him/herself understood, intercultural communication frameworks, effective communication, body language, ethics
- understand how to build and lead an effective virtual team, share information and content and adapt behavioral norms while using digital technologies communication platforms
- have an overall comprehension of a product life cycle and the engineering design process (and its interaction with overall project management for product development, with economic, marketing, communication issues)
- develop their creativity and innovation and apply related implementation techniques
- understand general project management concepts, terminology, frameworks and standards and have a good overall view of project life-cycle and project phases with emphasis in the product development context

Content

- Language and intercultural communication
- Online communication and virtual teams
- Engineering and design
- Project management

Materials

- articles

- studies and reports

Teaching methods

Pedagogical approach & Implementation
- problem based, self-directed learning in teams, innovative working life oriented: the task given by the partner companies (in the implementation 2019-2020 Engel or Skoda Transportation),
- coached by the representatives of the companies, team coaches and MUPIC experts
- 3 check points: self reflection at the end of the module (monitored by the coaches), skype meeting with the coaches and company representatives

Blended approach: the student will meet the team face-to-face at a kick off meeting on week and again at the end of the Project

The aim of the learning/teaching activities is to give the students, teachers and company representatives an opportunity to meet, set and clarify the team work assignments. During the teaching/ learning activity students will be introduced to project concept, they will be divided into teams in which they will divide the roles between themselves and plan the product development. They will also meet the company representatives who will introduce the task to them and gives them support. There will be two teaching/learning activities for the students during each phase of the piloting. During the second teaching/learning activity, students will present the results of their work, get feedback from the company representative and teachers from the partner institutions.

Exam schedules

No exam

Pedagogic approaches and sustainable development

The course aims to create and test a multidisciplinary students’ team learning model where the representative students from several European universities will be involved. The students will be given an assignment from an external company and they will have to find or create a final product/solution working together online. The students’ project teams will consist of experts from the field of engineering (industrial design), project management, marketing and arts. The students will be taught in several fields such as intercultural awareness, language and social skills and project management in virtual teams. The team will use online communication and apply diverse innovative (e.g. agile methods) methods, which are currently used all over the world, in project management as well as in sharing and creating knowledge.

Student workload

The task given by the partner companies (in the implementation 2020-2021).
- self reflection in the learning diary.

Evaluation methods and criteria

- self-assesment of the language level in the beginning of the course https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=090000168045bb52
- self- assessment of the Communication competence (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/sites/default/files/dc-en.pdf)

- self-reflection in diaries (what went well? what can we improve? what did we learn? what can we put in action?) after each module
- peer evaluation
- evaluation by the coach

o formal assessment of the output will be internal (coaches, experts, students) and external (companies)

Further information

English B2 level is required from the students.