Providing international experience virtually

The next instalment in the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) series of challenging conversations – Unleashing the new global university – is scheduled for Monday, 27 July 2020 and will focus on undergraduate student mobility.

The number of undergraduate students travelling for part or all of their degrees has increased dramatically in the last few years. The pandemic brought most of this mobility to a halt. These international experiences can be rich, even life-changing: both the exposure to new ways of thinking, but also to new ways of living. But they come at a cost – both to the environment, and often to the student, meaning only the well-off can afford them.

Using what we are learning from the global shift to emergency online teaching and learning, can we envisage a more sustainable, equitable model? What are the most valuable aspects of the international experience for students, and for which of those can we find creative virtual alternatives?

UCT vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng will host the event, which will be moderated by professor Sue Harrison, UCT’s deputy vice-chancellor for research and internationalisation.

Participants include:

• Ben Nelson, founder and CEO, Minerva Project
• Andrew Gordon, CEO and founder, Diversity Abroad
• Athenkosi Nzala, master’s student in online education, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Mokgadi Marishane, master’s student in psychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Vinicius Camilo, student in business-oriented computing, Technology College (FATEC), São Paulo, Brazil  

Join the webinar at 17:30 (CAT/SAST) on Monday, 27 July.