News

From Far and Near: CTL Is the Best of Both Worlds October, 9, 2024

Students Get Material Lessons in Metaverse Marketing Project July 10, 2023

Virtual Exchange Program Extending UTD Educators’ Global Reach April 19, 2023

Course Offers Virtual Exchange, Look at Deviant Behavior During Pandemic March 1, 2021

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Virtual Exchanges/ COILS implemented since 2020

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UT Dallas partner Institutions located in 18 Countries

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UT Dallas and International students engaged

Partner: Universidad Anáhuac Puebla  

Course: ANGM 6373 – Interactive Environments – Fall 2024

Bass School of Arts, Humanities and Technology

In an innovative cross-border collaboration, students from Universidad Anáhuac Puebla in Mexico and UT Dallas teamed up to bring three iconic historical sites in Puebla to life through virtual reality. Guided by Professor Jeff Price, associate professor of game design and virtual reality, UT Dallas graduate students enrolled in an Interactive Environments course worked alongside English language students in Mexico to create digital twins of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the world’s largest pyramid by volume. Students also recreated the historic Palafoxiana Library, the oldest and most revered library in the Americas. Lastly, they transformed the vibrant Callejón de los Sapos (Alley of the Frogs), known for its colorful facades, antique shops, and lively market atmosphere. Each site was turned into an awe-inspiring immersive environment, blending history and cutting-edge technology in the metaverse, with a final presentation to showcase their collaborative work.

Partner: Sheffield Hallam University, UK,

Course: SOC 3321 – Deviance – Fall 2024

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

Students in Dr. Carol Cirulli Lanham’s Deviant Behavior course at The University of Texas at Dallas are transforming their field observations into an international collaboration with their peers at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. As a professor of instruction in sociology and associate director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Lanham is trained in collaborative online international learning (COIL), which connects UT Dallas students with international partners. Her students have teamed up with sociology students at Sheffield Hallam to research deviant behaviors, including smoking/vaping, device use in social settings, behavior in bars, and tattoos and body modifications. Over several weeks, the students are conducting field research and collaborating via virtual meetings, culminating in a final presentation that compares similarities and differences in deviant behaviors across the two countries.

Partner: University of Marburg, Germany

Course: – Contemporary Economic Policy, Fall 2024, Fall 2023

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

UT Dallas and the University of Marburg in Germany already have an established dual degree master’s program in International Political Economy. Up to ten students are admitted each year both in Dallas and Marburg, where they study for one year before traveling abroad for their second year of study.

Now undergraduate students from the two institutions are embarking on a VE/COIL program that will enable them to learn about economic topics together without ever leaving home. Students enrolled in Dr. Irina Panovska’s undergraduate economics course on Contemporary Macroeconomic Policy at UTD and students from Dr. Bernd Hayo’s Macroeconomics II in Marburg will work on a joint project that studies the behavior of unemployment and inflation in G7 countries. The project looks at these important macroeconomic aggregates both from a theoretical and from an empirical perspective. The students will craft a joint presentation of their analysis about how policy and political environments have affected the behavior of unemployment and inflation globally,  and they will work on developing macroeconomic projections. They will also learn about each other’s cultures and countries along the way.

Before the start of the project, Dr. Sascha Moells, the dean of the School of Business and Economics at the University of Marburg hosted an in-person meet and greet in Dr. Panovska’s class so that students can learn more about the dual degree and the opportunity to participate in future VE/COIL projects and study abroad projects.

Partner: National Polytechnic School of Algiers, Algeria  

Course:  GISC 4384 – Health and Environmental GIS: A Global Perspective – Fall 2024

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

Students in Dr. Muhammad T. Rahman’s Health and Environmental GIS: A Global Perspective class at UT Dallas are collaborating with students from the National Polytechnic School of Algiers, which is located in a region that recorded the hottest day on the planet in 2024. Together, they are using remote sensing and GIS techniques to assess land use and land cover changes, as well as urban land surface temperature conditions, in various Algerian cities. By analyzing land use changes over five-year periods and surface temperature fluctuations using data from NASA’s Earth Explorer, the teams will explore the impacts of climate change on urban environments. The project will culminate in a joint presentation on GIS Day titled “Land Use and Land Cover Changes and their Impacts on the Land Surface Temperature in Algerian Cities” where students will showcase their findings and demonstrate how GIS and remote sensing technology can be applied to real-world environmental challenges.

Partner: PA 3322 – Sustainable Communities

Course: Universidad Católica de Colombia – Fall 2024

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

In Dr. John McCaskill’s Sustainable Communities course, students are partnering with computer science students from Universidad Católica de Colombia to develop a unique app related to architecture and sustainability. UT Dallas students are acting as users, providing input while their Colombian counterparts are applying their programming skills to create the app. The course explores public policy and environmental justice, covering topics such as climate change, habitat loss, and water security, with a focus on balancing economic, social, and environmental impacts. This cross-border collaboration combines technology and environmental ethics to address critical global challenges, offering students hands-on experience in both app development and sustainable policy design.

Partner: University of Monterrey (UDEM), Mexico 

Course: ECON 3312 – Money and Banking – Fall 2024, Fall 2023 and Fall 2021  

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

What better way to learn about money and banking than to participate in a policy debate during a simulated meeting of the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Mexico? 

In the collaborative online international learning (COIL) project with the University of Monterrey, UT Dallas students are paring up with students taking the same course in Mexico. A pioneer in collaborative learning at UTD, Dr. Victor Valcarcel, associate professor of economics, developed one of the first COIL projects offered at UTD in response to the Pandemic disruption of 2020. In the last four years, he has continued to work with his faculty partner in Mexico to refine and expand learning objectives and to provide resources for students to work in teams. 

Over the course of the Fall 2024 semester, students are taking on the roles of a given member of the central banks they chose to represent and are tasked with analyzing economic data and formulating policy recommendations. During the simulation, each student team will present its findings, predictions, and policy recommendations as if they were actual committee members. The students will then engage in debates, defending their positions and providing insights to the data presented by their peers. 

The goal of this simulation is to provide students with a practical and engaging way to apply their economic knowledge, understand the complexities of real-world central bank decision-making and experience the collaborative nature of policy discussions. It also allows them to develop skills in public speaking, critical thinking and teamwork while deepening their understanding of macroeconomics and monetary policy. 

Partner: Deakin University, Australia

Course: ENTP 4360 – Innovation and Creativity – Fall 2024, Fall 2023

Naveen Jindal School of Management

The ability to interact with colleagues internationally and to build teams with people across different countries, different languages, and different cultures is critical. To provide an experience to hone those skills, Emily Choi, Associate Professor of Instruction, Innovation and Entrepreneurship is partnering with Wade Halvorson, Theme Director, Entrepreneurship & SMEs at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia

UT Dallas students studying Innovation and Creativity are teaming up with Deakin students enrolled in the unit, Entrepreneurship Experience. For the four-week project, students are navigating a 16-hour time difference while focusing on innovative technology. Along the way, they are connecting on a personal level as well, which is enhancing the success of the program

Partner: Sheffield Hallam University, England  

Course:  BPS 4395.008 – Capstone Senior Project, Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2024 

Naveen Jindal School of Management

Mary Beth Goodrich and her faculty partner Michael Benson at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) were the recipients of an inaugural Texas International Education Fund COIL Grant in 2023. The two professors collaborated for the first time in Spring 2023, with U.S. graduate students serving as “consultants to the consultants.” That is, UT Dallas students consulted with U.K. students who were already serving as consultants to British companies.

In Fall 2023, they extended the collaboration to an undergraduate course where students engaged in a hands-on consultancy capstone experience with real-life projects sourced from both U.S.- and U.K.-based companies. This similar collaboration occurred in Spring 2024 with Mary Beth and Michael simplifying the collaboration and making the deliverables more clear. In the third undergraduate course collaboration since receiving the grant, Mary Beth is now working with David Jones as the module lead of SHU consultancy as Michael Benson has moved to other responsibilities at SHU. Continuous improvement is allowing the collaboration to have more impact to both UTD and SHU students.

The types of companies working with students from the U.S.- and U.K. include organizations such as Quality Ferments, Dallas Formula Racing, SHU Racing, Tempus Novo, Alder Bar Sheffield, Manta Systems, and Dimple Bhatia, CPA. In the current semester, 47 students from UT Dallas and 30 students from Sheffield Hallam University were divided into teams with four to six students per team. Participants met synchronously at the beginning of the semester to kick off the collaboration and are continuing to meet to brainstorm solutions, research, and produce final project reports and presentations containing recommendations for the clients. UTD and SHU students will have a synchronous celebration at the end of the semester. Students serve as “Pond Partners” to their international student partners, fostering cross-border connections with international counterparts and extending their collaborative reach.

Partner: University of Marburg  

Course: OB 6301 – Organizational Behavior – Fall 2024

Naveen Jindal School of Management

Graduate students enrolled in Dr. Maria Hansenhuttle’s Organizational Behavior course at UT Dallas are collaborating with business students from the University of Marburg in Germany to create a podcast series addressing various aspects of the evolving business environment. Topics include work motivation, decision-making, organizational culture, and more specialized issues such as cultural differences in student life, job market opportunities, Gen Z work ethics, diversity in the workplace, and the impact of technology on work-life balance. With Germany’s free health care, affordable housing, and flexible university programs as a backdrop, students are exploring how these factors influence business practices and management on both sides of the Atlantic. This cross-border collaboration offers fresh perspectives and actionable insights into global business dynamics, giving students practical experience while bridging cultural and organizational gaps.

Partner: Centro Paula Souza (CESU), Brazil  

Course:  IMS 3310 International Business – Fall 2024, Fall 2023

Naveen Jindal School of Management

Tom Henderson grew up in Brazil, which makes his ongoing collaborations with colleagues at FATEC in Brazil, especially gratifying. Beginning in Fall 2023, students started working together on a market analysis of the dairy industry in both countries, delving into consumer preferences and the positioning of the product in each respective market. The collaboration is continuing in Fall 2024 with a new group of students. As part of the collaboration, they are having weekly synchronous meetings on Teams, where students engage in real-time discussions while gathering around their screens. When not in class, WhatsApp provides a platform for students to share various aspects of their lives, including pictures of their pets, communities, workplace and more. The social dimension is bringing an additional element of engagement to the project.

Partner: University of Monterrey, Mexico  

Course:  BCOM3300 – Professionalism and Communication in Business – Fall 2024

Naveen Jindal School of Management

Most JSOM students will no doubt work as part of global teams once they graduate and enter the business world. In her Business Communications course, Professor Victoria McCrady ensures her upper-division students gain practical experience in communicating with people from different countries through a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project.

In Fall 2024, McCrady’s students are partnering with business communication students at the University of Monterrey in Mexico. Through this collaboration, students not only learn the course content but also enhance their intercultural communication skills. The project includes virtual student-only meetings that incorporate icebreakers designed to help students get to know each other’s cultures.

Then the student groups (a mix of students from each university) are researching companies that have offices in both the United States and Mexico. For the final presentation, each student group selects one of these companies and proposes an innovation that will help the company improve their services in either the United States or Mexico. These activities offer students insight into how critical cross-cultural communication is as people — and companies — operate internationally.

As students have discovered, Walmart sometimes delivers groceries by drone in North Texas, and HEB offers a wide range of regional delicacies in Monterrey, Mexico.

Partner: Institute-Mines Telecom Nord Europe, France 

Course: EE 4301 – Electromagnetic Engineering – Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 

Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science

Dr. Matthew Heins is an associate professor of instructor in electrical engineering at UT Dallas. IMT Nord Europe, a university in Lille, France, has an apprenticeship/master’s program for students studying engineering. Through collaborative online international learning, students from both institutions create interdisciplinary research posters related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Working in teams, students select a specific goal of interest, conduct research on that goal, and explore solutions that utilized their respective knowledge and skills. Topics are focused on global challenges, such as clean energy, gender equality, environmental preservation, and more.

Throughout the collaboration, students engage in discussions and share their ideas and insights related to these goals while receiving feedback from their respective professors.

Heins notes that the international collaboration highlights the potential for multidisciplinary approaches to address global challenges. 

Partner: Universidad Católica de Colombia, Columbia

Course: BMEN 1100: Introduction to Bioengineering

Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science

Freshmen students enrolled in Dr. Katie Myers’ Introduction to Bioengineering course at UT Dallas are involved in a unique collaboration with system and computing students from the Catholic University of Colombia. In this cross-border project, UT Dallas students are acting as end users while their Colombian peers develop an Android app designed to support a key task in biomedical engineering such as data analysis, visualization, simulation, or resource management.  This partnership blends hands-on bioengineering lab work with real-world programming experience, offering students from both universities an opportunity to apply their knowledge in a global context.

Partner: Ecole Polytechnique de l’Université d’Orléans, France

Course: EE 4391 Technology of Plasma – Fall 2024

Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS)

Students enrolled in Dr. Larry Overzet’s Technology of Plasma course are collaborating with peers from Polytech Orléans in France to explore how plasmas play a crucial role in modern living. Working in small groups, they are investigating the use of plasmas in industries such as semiconductor device manufacturing, energy production, and lighting. As part of this cross-border collaboration, students are comparing how plasmas are used in both France and the USA. This project not only is deepening technical knowledge but also fostering essential skills in intercultural communication, helping students engage effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds and convey ideas to those whose primary language differed from their own.

Partners:

Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay 

Colegio Bayard, Argentina 

Superior de Formación Docente César Avanza in Bahía Blanca, Argentina

Course: NATS 4341 – Project-Based Instruction – Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021  

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

The UTeach Dallas program in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics prepares students for math and science teaching careers in the K-12 setting. Knowing that students will be working with diverse populations once they graduate, UT Dallas Master Teacher Dr. Kate York and her colleagues Denise Gregory and Katie Donaldson have been incorporating collaborative online international learning into their curriculum for years. Their current partners are Universidad Nacional de Asunción in Paraguay and Colegio Bayard in Argentina.

Through virtual teaching experiences and joint project activities centered on science, math, English language development, and education systems, students in all three countries gain valuable intercultural perspectives through the VE/COIL. Guided by their professors, students engaged in live teaching sessions, collaborated on projects, and shared reflections, fostering cross-cultural interactions and empathy.

The collaborations aim to bring international experiences into the classroom, especially for those who may not have the opportunity to travel abroad. It also empowers these future teachers to embrace variety in their careers.