Struggling at the core: multilingualism and multiculturalism in a European University Alliance

With the ultimate aim of finding ways to improve the systematic integration of linguistic and cultural competencies in engineering education, this paper addresses how culture and language competency education is discussed within a technical European University Alliance and how this discourse is translated – or not – into educational initiatives and activities. By doing this, we aim to put focus on the gap between a certain European Union ideology – “united in diversity” – which is at the very heart of the EU project, and the everyday practices at technical universities, where linguistic and cultural competency education are often considered as marginal activities or elective add-ons compared to the hard core of technical subjects. The paper is based on European University Alliance documents and the observations and experiences made within one alliance’s working group on cultural and linguistic training during 2020-2022. We suggest that the gap between the rhetoric of multilingualism and multiculturalism and the reality of teaching and learning within the alliance has at least two sources: a tendency to engage in magical thinking where global competence develops “spontaneously” in international settings and a tendency to avoid addressing difficult questions, e.g., what multilingualism and multiculturalism actually mean in contemporary engineering education. This paper will provide some of the crucial questions that need addressing if we want to move beyond the empty rhetoric, as well as some practical suggestions for a systematic integration of cultural and linguistic competency education into engineering education

Drunken modernity: wine in China

Tandis que le vin essaie de s’infiltrer dans le répertoire culinaire de la Chine, il s’agit plus qu’un simple processus de flux culinaires globaux du centre vers la périphérie. Le vin chinois est devenu un nouvel outil d’identification ainsi qu’un signe de la position renégociée de cette nation dans le monde. Pour ce qu’elle vaut, l’industrie vinicole sert également l’intérêt de l’État-parti en renforçant sa légitimité et en établissant son agenda politique. Dans cet article, qui rend compte de l’histoire du vin chinois ainsi que sa situation actuelle, la boisson est prise comme exemple des changements culinaires contemporains, mais surtout comme moyen d’explorer les significations et les limites sociales d’une modernité émergente distinctement chinoise. Une modernité qui dans sa volonté apparente d’absorber le nouveau et l’étranger remplace la dichotomie sino-occidentale jusque là prédominante, tout en adhérant toujours aux vieilles rengaines ‘que l’ancien serve le présent’ et ‘que l’étranger serve le chinois.’As grape wine tries to sell its way into the standard culinary repertoire of China, it is more than simply a process of a global culinary flow from the centre to the periphery. Chinese wine has become a new tool for identification as well as a sign of the nation’s renegotiated position in the world. For what it is worth, the wine industry also serves the interest of the party-state by strengthening its legitimacy and substantiating its political agenda. In this article, which reviews China’s wine history as well as the present situation, the drink is taken as an example of contemporary culinary change, but foremost as a means to explore the meanings and social limits of an emergent distinctly Chinese modernity. A modernity that in its apparent willingness to embrace the new and foreign supersedes the hitherto predominant Sino-Western dichotomy, while still adhering to the century-old catchphrases ‘make the old serve the present’ and ‘make the foreign serve the Chinese.

Drunken modernity: wine in China

As grape wine tries to sell its way into the standard culinary repertoire of China, it is more than simply a process of a global culinary flow from the centre to the periphery. Chinese wine has become a new tool for identification as well as a sign of the nation’s renegotiated position in the world. For what it is worth, the wine industry also serves the interest of the party-state by strengthening its legitimacy and substantiating its political agenda. In this article, which reviews China’s wine history as well as the present situation, the drink is taken as an example of contemporary culinary change, but foremost as a means to explore the meanings and social limits of an emergent distinctly Chinese modernity. A modernity that in its apparent willingness to embrace the new and foreign supersedes the hitherto predominant Sino-Western dichotomy, while still adhering to the century-old catchphrases ‘make the old serve the present’ and ‘make the foreign serve the Chinese.

Education for a Sustainable Future: Strategies for Holistic Global Competence Development at Engineering Institutions

Higher education institutions (HEIs) must ensure that their graduates possess not only professional know-how, but also the global competence to address the challenges posed in the UN’s 2030 Agenda. This is especially relevant in engineering education, which plays an important role in sustainable development. These competencies are typically thought to be developed in relation to institutions’ internationalisation efforts, but reports on how this is supposed to happen are often vague or built on wishful thinking. In this article, we describe a mixed-methods investigation into how holistic global competence development as a crucial aspect of sustainable education can be systematically enhanced in higher engineering education. Following a design-based research approach, connecting theoretical and practical insights from experts and stakeholders, we present here four dimensions of such an approach. Firstly, we discuss the setup, contents, and implementation of institutional guidelines as the crucial starting point of any internationalisation strategy aiming at integrating sustainable development education and global competence development. Secondly, we stress the role of institutional diversity, and show how institutions can foster inclusive and welcoming environments. Thirdly, we suggest strategies and approaches for global competence training for students, faculty, and staff, and highlight important background considerations for enabling global competence development. Fourthly, we emphasise the importance of assessing efforts to ensure that they live up to their potential and deliver the desired outcomes. The recommendations based on the investigation summarise key considerations that all HEIs—not just those focused on engineering education—must take into account as they strive for holistic global competence development, which is a key aspect of education for sustainable development

Supporting global competence learning for engineering students: for key lessons (to be) learnt

Global competence is an essential attribute for engineering graduates working in an interconnected and culturally diverse world, and higher engineering education needs to adapt to ensure that their students will acquire it before entering the labor market. For universities, the only way to ensure comprehensive global competence learning for all students is the holistic integration of related learning outcomes throughout curricula – which requires engineering educators to be able to (re)design their courses and programs accordingly. Considering that most engineering educators are subject experts of their discipline – but lay people when it comes to such competencies – we set out to compile a practical guideline for those wanting to integrate global competence learning within their disciplinary courses. Following a participatory action research approach, we connected our own insights as global competence educators at a technical university with those of several cohorts of engineering educators and students enrolled in global competence courses. Synthesizing these insights, we could identify four essential lessons for integrated global competence learning: 1) learning opportunities can be found (nearly) everywhere, 2) relevance and authenticity must be emphasized, 3) theory and practice need to be integrated and 4) global competence cannot be taught, but it can be learnt. These lessons are illustrated with practical examples for fostering global competence learning in regular engineering courses

THE PEDAGOGICAL DEVELOPERS INITIATIVE : SYSTEMATIC SHIFTS, SERENDIPITIES, AND SETBACKS

Pedagogical projects have often, at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, as well as elsewhere, been initiated and managed by individual enthusiasts rather than dedicated teams. This generally decreases the possibility of successful implementation of more ambitious ideas, e.g., changing educational programs, implementing the CDIO syllabus, or strengthening the pedagogical development of larger parts of the faculty. To enable wider and more effective change, KTH top management therefore launched a universityencompassing three-year project in 2014, in which a group of highly motivated teachers from all schools at KTH were appointed part-time pedagogical developers (PDs). The PDs were given the task of promoting pedagogical development and facilitate cooperation and knowledge exchange among faculty members, as described in two previous papers at CDIO conferences. From 2017, the outcomes of this project are supposed to be integrated parts of the KTH line organization. The project has led to numerous actions, which would have been difficult to set in motion unless given the freedom in time to explore and to develop into a collective effort rather than a myriad of individual “stand-alone” examples. By addressing key areas for pedagogical development, our group of dedicated faculty have tried to surpass the suboptimal "lock-in" of strict individual reasoning and to deal with surfaced questions and relevant issues in a broader collective manner. A major insight confirmed by the project and its many sub-projects has indeed been the fundamental importance of collegial discussions and the creation of processes that facilitate and support teacher cooperation. We have also, through discussions with faculty at KTH, confirmed the need for clearly defined, tangible incentives for teachers, motivating them to participate in pedagogical development activities, even if this means less time left for the traditional pathway to rewards within academia, i.e. research. In this paper, we chart changes that have occurred in the educational practices at KTH by describing and discussing the project’s focus on pedagogical development of faculty, actual execution of changes in the engineering educations, lessons learned along the way, and visions yet to be realised.QC 20170919</p

The pedagogical developers initiative - development, implementation and lessons learned from a systematic approach to faculty development

This paper presents a systematic, university--wide approach to creating an encompassing movement towards faculty development. In 2014, KTH Royal Institute of Technology launched the pedagogical developers initiative, appointing part--time pedagogical developers among teachers from all schools of KTH, to implement and strengthen good teaching and learning practices among faculty and students. They are teachers active in different educational programmes, with experience of, and interest in, pedagogical issues. In line with CDIO standard 10, the purpose of the pedagogical developers’ initiative is to facilitate cooperation and knowledge exchange between faculty members, and to establish communities of practice. The paper presents the activities, processes for developing these activities and preliminary results from the initiative’s second year, which focused much on supporting faculty development by putting into place a series of workshops, a format chosen for its combination of active community-building learning and time efficiency. The topics of the workshops emerged to meet faculty needs identified by the pedagogical developers during the first year. The workshops were created by smaller teams of pedagogical developers from different schools of KTH. This enabled a wide array of experiences and perspectives to be incorporated into the workshops. Main focuses of the workshops have been on creating internal discussions in dynamic communities of practice on specific subjects of interest, and on creating forums for exchange of ideas, open to the whole faculty. During Autumn 2015, the workshops have been offered as voluntary add-on parts of the basic course in teaching and learning offered to faculty at KTH. This first round of workshops generated a positive interest from teachers, and participant feedback indicates that they particularly appreciated the opportunity to work directly with their own courses and the opportunity to discuss pedagogical aspects with peers. QC 20170306</p