Movi’s summer course attracted students from around the world to Jyväskylä
The Centre for Multilingual Academic Communication at the Ģֱ, Movi, organized a summer course in May in collaboration with three foreign universities: Johannes Kepler University Linz from Austria, University of Burgundy from France, and Chiba University from Japan. Both students, and the course teachers participated from these partner universities. The summer course, focused on multilingual and intercultural communication competence in international projects, generated a lot of interest among the partner universities abroad.
A total of 35 students from five different universities were selected for the course, with 32 of them arriving in Jyväskylä for the short-term mobility period held last week. The purpose of the course was to provide opportunities to study multilingual and intercultural communication in an authentic environment where both students and teachers come from diverse backgrounds with various language repertoires.
Diverse discussions the highlight of the course
The summer course was arranged as a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP), consisting of two online meetings and a live intensive week with contact teaching in Jyväskylä. In addition to academic sessions and group projects, the intensive week in Finland included a visit to the multicultural center Gloria and relaxed evening activities around Jyväskylä.
Aslı Bilge Aslan and Megan Shih, students at the University of Burgundy in France, wanted to participate in the summer course organized in Finland due to its interesting content and potential benefits for the future working life. Also, discussions on multiculturalism and language with people from different backgrounds were something to look forward to. According to students, the intensive course has met these expectations excellently, and good discussions in various languages have taken place both in and outside of class.
For Jesslyn Sophia Fong from Johannes Kepler University in Austria, the course is part of compulsory studies. Fong considers the opportunity to visit Finland and learn extensively about multiculturalism from different teachers, besides meeting new people, as a great experience overall.
The aim of the course was to provide a safe space to practice and learn multilingual communication with students from diverse backgrounds, as well as to offer theoretical foundations supporting practical experiences in working with multilingual and multicultural groups. “The central goal of the course is to encourage students to trust their own multilingual and intercultural competence and to get excited about encountering different people and environments”, Lotta Kokkonen, the course teacher and lecturer at Movi, specifies.
Finns are laid-back, and the sun shines even at night
In addition to lectures and group work, students got to explore Finland and the summery Jyväskylä. The program included activities such as a cruise on Lake Jyväsjärvi, sauna bathing, swimming, hiking in nature, and tasting local foods. Especially swimming in the lake and enjoying salmon soup received praise from the students.
Finland and the Finnish people have also made a positive impression on the trio. People seem laid-back and friendly. “I think there are these kinds of stereotypes that Northern Europeans are often seen as cold and serious, but that doesn't seem to be true”, Aslan reflects. Additionally, the cleanliness, good infrastructure, and ease of getting around on foot receive appreciation. City is also not too crowded, and there is plenty of space to move around in the center of Jyväskylä. "It feels really safe!" the students agree.
However, what has amazed the students the most is the white nights: the sun doesn't seem to set at all, and there is plenty of light until late at night. Shih finds the white nights pleasant and feels they increase productivity. On the other hand, Fong has started to miss darker nights. "I liked it for the first couple of days, but now I'm starting to question whether I need this much light every night. I want to be able to sleep," Fong says with a laugh.
Short-term mobilities offer excellent opportunities for internationalisation
Students remain interested in internationalisation, and enhancing intercultural competence for future careers is seen important. When longer exchange periods are not possible due to the lack of resources, increasingly popular short-term mobilities provide a great opportunity for internationalisation. “The fact that over 70 applications were received for the course demonstrates the need for such activities”, Kokkonen notes.
Aslan, Shih, and Fong are all international students at their home universities. Aslan comes from Turkey, Shih from Taiwan, and Fong from Indonesia. The short-term mobility period is their first, and the course organized in Finland has provided them with a great opportunity to meet students from different universities around the world, not just in Northern Europe. The students have particularly enjoyed the contact teaching week in Jyväskylä. Kokkonen emphasizes the significance of organizing short-term mobility courses for marketing Finland to students and teachers from partner universities abroad: "These courses provide an amazing opportunity for teachers and students from partner universities to come to Finland and perhaps get inspired to stay longer!"
Movi intends to continue investing in internationalisation studies also in the future. The summer course as a short-term mobility module is set to continue, and Movi is considering organizing other similar projects. In addition, in the upcoming academic period starting in the autumn semester of 2024, Movi will offer students even more opportunities for domestic internationalisation, as a study module in multilingual and cross-cultural communication competence will be available. "The purpose of this study module is, among other things, to highlight internationalisation experiences gained through other means than participating in longer student exchanges and to help students reflect on and articulate the skills they have gained through this," explains Juhani Moisio, project manager at Movi.