Yesterday, we hosted the UCOILD Multiplier Event, and our team reflects on a day both meaningful and well-celebrated! A heartfelt thank you to all the ETEN members who joined us and to KP for generously hosting this gathering.

The day was marked by an inspiring keynote from internationally renowned COIL expert Eva Haug, who (by the way) recently received the 2024 EAIE Award for Outstanding Contribution—an honor recognizing both her expertise in COIL and her generosity in sharing it. Congratulations, Eva!

The UCOILD team delivered workshops filled with practical insights, effective frameworks, and thought-provoking questions that not only challenge how we implement COILs but also encourage us to reflect on their deeper why. This was followed by a lively panel debate featuring KP’s Annette Bruun, OsloMET’s Catherine Drøscher, and Eva Haug. The discussion underscored that there are many sustainable ways to integrate COILs into the curriculum—provided we reach out and truly listen to one another, involve students in the development process, and establish clear connections between our university’s vision, strategy, and the value of internationalization in achieving those goals.

Reflecting on the day, I am both proud of the expertise that was shared and impressed by the resources we’ve developed over the past two years. As I mentioned during my workshop on Evaluating COILs, it can sometimes feel like progress is slow, or that pioneering work in COIL is, at times, tedious. Yet, looking back, I now see how our UCOILD toolkit website has quietly, but steadily, filled up with valuable tools to support lecturers across the globe in designing impactful COIL projects. I encourage you to explore the site, and I hope you find inspiration to spark meaningful international collaborations among students everywhere.

As global challenges can often feel overwhelming, it’s essential to remember the beauty of collaboration, the joy of connecting with others, and the immense value of learning from one another. Hannah Arendt wrote about taking responsibility for the world as it is, and in her concept of Amor Mundi—the love of the world—she reminds us to embrace both its flaws and its possibilities. Arendt believed that by coming together in the public sphere, we possess the ability to continuously start anew, renewing our shared world with each act of engagement. Let’s carry her words with us and, for the love of the world, continue to build bridges and foster cooperation across borders. Thankful how our ETEN-network facilitates this, as well as the potential of all current and future COILS!

Ready to partner on a new COIL project? Fill out the form on our website (under construction) and find your perfect match!

Rochelle Helms, University of Amsterdam

Categories: 2024 Copenhagen, Coil, Exchanges