Adapting a capacity-development-in-higher-education project:Doing, being and becoming virtual collaboration

In November 2019, scholars and practitioners from ten higher education institutions celebrated the launch of the iKudu project. This project, co-funded by Erasmus+[1], focuses on capacity development for curriculum transformation through internationalisation and development of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) virtual exchange. Detailed plans for 2020 were discussed including a series of site visits and face-to-face training. However, the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the plans in ways that could not have been foreseen and new ways of thinking and doing came to the fore. Writing from an insider perspective as project partners, in this paper we draw from appreciative inquiry, using a metaphor of a mosaic as our identity, to first provide the background on the iKudu project before sharing the impact of the pandemic on the project’s adapted approach. We then discuss how alongside the focus of iKudu in the delivery of an internationalised and transformed curriculum using COIL, we have, by our very approach as project partners, adopted the principles of COIL exchange. A positive impact of the pandemic was that COIL offered a consciousness raising activity, which we suggest could be used more broadly in order to help academics think about international research practice partnerships, and, as in our situation, how internationalised and decolonised curriculum practices might be approached. [1] KA2 Erasmus+ Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices (capacity building in the field of Higher Education

Which generic competences are most encouraged with COIL? : a comparative longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of student’s perspectives in the Netherlands and Switzerland

COIL projects are often known as a form of virtual student exchange that can foster various generic competences that are relevant for the 21st century, such as intercultural communication, digital literacy, critical thinking, and global citizenship. However, there is not much empirical research on how COIL projects can effectively promote these competences and what factors influence their acquisition. Examples that can be found often focus on intercultural learning and are limited to smaller single case studies. This study aims to help to fill a part of the gap in research by conducting a mixedmethods analysis of a larger scale COIL project that has been running for a longer time. It involves all students in an academic year allowing more quantitative analysis and it also gives insight into generic competencies gained that go beyond the intercultural learning process. The study will then examine the pedagogy, technology, and assessment in facilitating or hindering the development of generic competences on COIL. COIL projects have been an integral part of the Facility Management programs from The Hague university of Applied Sciences and Zurich University of Applied Sciences. This research will highlight the quantitative and qualitative data involving 320 students from 2021 and 2022 project as this is the most recent and large-scale data available and will delve deeper using the qualitative data from the years before this. This COIL project is called FM- Beyond Borders. The methodological approach is: a. Quantitative cross-sectional analysis of competences from FM-Beyond Borders class 2022. Identifying significant differences between the generic competences and significant differences between NL/CH students. b. Longitudinal analysis comparing Quantitative data from 2021 and 2022. c. Qualitative analysis of possible causes of a and b. d. Qualitative analysis going beyond this project to previous years

How to introduce COILs into existing courses : best practice from Sprint COILs around the world

Keynote presentationSetting up a new COIL can sometimes be challenging. Time constraints, lack of experience, the need for internal consent or lack of resources can be significant obstacles in the development of a new teaching format. For all those facing such hurdles, Sprint COILs can be the answer. This short COIL format that can be incorporated into any course without overriding contracts, and without having to go through the university's internal bureaucracy. All it takes is two initiative lecturers from two universities. Sprint COILs have been developed by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in collaboration with partners from across the globe. We report from projects with various universities in different countries in order to provide best practice examples. Key themes: • Characteristics of a Sprint COIL • Arguments for introducing Sprint COILs in courses • Choosing the right course • Setting up and conducting a Sprint COIL • Students’ key learnings • Challenges from the perspective of the individual universities in the different countries • Limitations, potentials and outlook Lecturers participating in the Sprint COILs between the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the six involved universities from China, Mexico, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Switzerland and The Netherlands will share their insights from conducting Sprint COILs in a wide range of disciplines, such as Facility Management, Environmental Engineering and Intercultural Communication. Illustrative examples will provide ample insight into how to successfully set up and conduct a Sprint COIL

Two years of genomic surveillance in Belgium during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to attain country-wide coverage and monitor the introduction and spread of emerging variants

An adequate SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance strategy has proven to be essential for countries to obtain a thorough understanding of the variants and lineages being imported and successfully established within their borders. During 2020, genomic surveillance in Belgium was not structurally implemented but performed by individual research laboratories that had to acquire the necessary funds themselves to perform this important task. At the start of 2021, a nationwide genomic surveillance consortium was established in Belgium to markedly increase the country’s genomic sequencing efforts (both in terms of intensity and representativeness), to perform quality control among participating laboratories, and to enable coordination and collaboration of research projects and publications. We here discuss the genomic surveillance efforts in Belgium before and after the establishment of its genomic sequencing consortium, provide an overview of the specifics of the consortium, and explore more details regarding the scientific studies that have been published as a result of the increased number of Belgian SARS-CoV-2 genomes that have become available

Two years of genomic surveillance in Belgium during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to attain country-wide coverage and monitor the introduction and spread of emerging variants

An adequate SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance strategy has proven to be essential for countries to obtain a thorough understanding of the variants and lineages being imported and successfully established within their borders. During 2020, genomic surveillance in Belgium was not structurally implemented but performed by individual research laboratories that had to acquire the necessary funds themselves to perform this important task. At the start of 2021, a nationwide genomic surveillance consortium was established in Belgium to markedly increase the country’s genomic sequencing efforts (both in terms of intensity and representativeness), to perform quality control among participating laboratories, and to enable coordination and collaboration of research projects and publications. We here discuss the genomic surveillance efforts in Belgium before and after the establishment of its genomic sequencing consortium, provide an overview of the specifics of the consortium, and explore more details regarding the scientific studies that have been published as a result of the increased number of Belgian SARS-CoV-2 genomes that have become available

Two Years of Genomic Surveillance in Belgium during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic to Attain Country-Wide Coverage and Monitor the Introduction and Spread of Emerging Variants.

peer reviewedAn adequate SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance strategy has proven to be essential for countries to obtain a thorough understanding of the variants and lineages being imported and successfully established within their borders. During 2020, genomic surveillance in Belgium was not structurally implemented but performed by individual research laboratories that had to acquire the necessary funds themselves to perform this important task. At the start of 2021, a nationwide genomic surveillance consortium was established in Belgium to markedly increase the country's genomic sequencing efforts (both in terms of intensity and representativeness), to perform quality control among participating laboratories, and to enable coordination and collaboration of research projects and publications. We here discuss the genomic surveillance efforts in Belgium before and after the establishment of its genomic sequencing consortium, provide an overview of the specifics of the consortium, and explore more details regarding the scientific studies that have been published as a result of the increased number of Belgian SARS-CoV-2 genomes that have become available

Nationwide quality assurance of high-throughput diagnostic molecular testing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic : role of the Belgian National Reference Centre

Abstract: Since the onset of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Belgium, UZ/KU Leuven has played a crucial role as the National Reference Centre (NRC) for respiratory pathogens, to be the first Belgian laboratory to develop and implement laboratory developed diagnostic assays for SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and later to assess the quality of commercial kits. To meet the growing demand for decentralised testing, both clinical laboratories and government-supported high-throughput platforms were gradually deployed across Belgium. Consequently, the role of the NRC transitioned from a specialised testing laboratory to strengthening capacity and coordinating quality assurance. Here, we outline the measures taken by the NRC, the national public health institute Sciensano and the executing clinical laboratories to ensure effective quality management of molecular testing throughout the initial two years of the pandemic (March 2020 to March 2022)