{"id":2124,"date":"2026-02-24T20:13:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/?p=2124"},"modified":"2026-02-24T21:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T21:45:30","slug":"coil-in-action-how-global-collaboration-is-changing-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/2026\/02\/24\/coil-in-action-how-global-collaboration-is-changing-students\/","title":{"rendered":"COIL in Action: How Global Collaboration Is Changing Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cStudy abroad is like a roller coaster \u2013 it looks scary but once you\u2019ve tried it, it\u2019s just really exciting, fun you know? The relationships you build in COIL \u2013 that\u2019s the push you need to ride that coaster.\u201d Ahmed Zammit<\/p>\n

\u201cWe learned that patience, openness, and respect are not just ideal values in intercultural communication, they are required skills.\u201d Priya Alamwala<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By Victoria Surtees<\/a><\/p>\n

Two years in, we\u2019re getting our first glimpses of how Collaborative Online Intercultural Learning<\/a> projects are impacting students.<\/p>\n

The consensus?<\/p>\n

While it can be difficult to navigate a \u201cmaze of schedules and time zones\u201d, COIL projects make students feel connected. It gives them opportunities to appreciate\u00a0different ways of communicating and gets them excited to pursue international experiences like study abroad or international internships.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Victoria Surtees, TLC\u2019s COIL coordinator, had chance to engage with students who participated in three different COIL projects in Intercultural Communication, Regional and Urban Planning, and Business.<\/p>\n

To hear the full interview with Gabriella Wertheimer and Suwebah Shoaib, check out the most recent episode of Ekta, Learning Differently Together<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Contact Victoria.surtees@ufv.ca<\/a> if you are curious about having COIL in your classroom.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is COIL? What does it look like in practice?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

COIL involves students from two classes in two different countries working collaboratively on project that addresses learning outcomes in both courses. Students work virtually in global teams to solve problems, create projects, and pitch solutions.<\/p>\n

Project showcase: A culturally responsive public relations campaign<\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Joy Enyinnaya\u2019s<\/a> Advanced Intercultural Communication class hosted a COIL showcase featuring collaborative work between UFV students and UniMAC students in Ghana. Together, the teams developed four public-relations campaigns for Ruth and Naomi\u2019s Mission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A big part of this project was asking students to create campaigns that showed they understood both Canadian and Ghanaian cultural perspectives. By working with their Ghanaian partners under the guidance of Dr. Lawrencia Agyepong at UniMac, they learned how values, daily experiences, and community needs can differ, and how those differences shape communication. Their final campaigns showed respect, cultural awareness, and strong intercultural understanding.<\/p>\n

During the event, Tracy Rahn, Ruth and Naomi\u2019s Director of Development, offered glowing feedback. She praised the students\u2019 ingenuity, thoughtfulness, and intentionality, noting that their work reflected deep learning and a broadened global social perspective.<\/p>\n

What students are saying<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Building Intercultural communication skills<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Across different classes students said the same thing: the differences and the difficulties were important learning moments\u2026 if students were humble and curious enough to move them.<\/p>\n

\"students<\/a>In her final reflection on her COIL in Joy\u2019s class, Priya Alamwala highlighted the differences she experienced and the impact it had: \u201c<\/strong>Our Ghanaian teammates often communicated in ways that were warm, expressive, and relationship-focused. They saw emotional connection as an essential part of our project and our meetings. In contrast, our Canadian approach tended to be more direct, structured, and task-oriented. Instead of these differences creating tension, they actually helped us create a balance in creating our campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suwebah Shoaib was part of a COIL collaboration lead by Dr. Cherie Enns<\/a> in the Urban and Regional Planning Program. She collaborated with Egyptian students from Helwan University exploring sustainable water practices. For her, a defining moment was during Zoom meetings when her Egyptian partner often interrupted her. I didn\u2019t get it at first, she explained and had felt a bit offended. On reflection, she realized that her teammate just needed a bit of time to process and form her thoughts in English and was trying to contribute meaningfully to the conversation. It reminded Suwebah to be humble and respect the tenacity of her teammates. She is grateful to Dr. Cherie, who encouraged the students to approach collaboration with an open mind.<\/p>\n

Authentic Relationships<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the most surprising outcomes of COIL projects for students was relationships \u2013 real, authentic connections. The kinds they had been craving but hadn\u2019t previously experienced in group projects with only UFV students.<\/p>\n

Gabriella Wertheimer, who participated in Joy\u2019s COIL explained that as an international student from Brazil, she had been missing the warm relationship-focused style communication from her home country. When she met Moses, her Ghanaian teammate, it was connection at first sight. His cool under pressure, his warmth and his genuine excitement to connect with their team made a huge impression.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve kept in touch.<\/p>\n

A Pathway to Study Abroad<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Ahmed<\/a>In 2024, Ahmed Zammit participated in UFV\u2019s first ever COIL collaboration as part of Mark Breedveld<\/a>\u2019s class on professional selling. Mark\u2019s class collaborated with students in Morrocco at Al Akhawayn University on a project exploring different perspectives on accepting cash payments in local businesses. \u201cThe project was a lot. The expectations were different between our Moroccan counterparts and us and time zones make connecting difficult. But talking to them, getting to know them, that was the best part. It really opened my eyes and got me excited about studying abroad. Knowing someone there made all the difference, like you\u2019re not just landing in the dark.\u201d While he had originally planned to go to England, after the COIL, Ahmed made the choice to do a semester abroad in Morrocco.\u00a0 \u201cAfter being there, I had a way better understanding of why the Moroccan students were so detail-oriented on their tasks. It\u2019s way stricter there.\u201d While abroad, he met up with his COIL partners and even the Moroccan COIL instructor. When asked how instructors support students in engaging with COIL, he explained: \u201cYou need to be curious and know they will do things differently \u2013 instructors could help students understand that before they meet with their COIL teams. It\u2019s also helpful to have time to talk about the difficulties.\u201d While it felt hard at the time, Ahmed has since realized that negotiating time zones, different cultures, and different work styles is something he will have to do in future. \u201cI\u2019ve caught the travel bug. I know I\u2019ll be working in international teams a lot more from now on.\u201d Now back from his semester abroad, he has landed in Financial Management with Dr. Felicia Chong, who is doing a COIL project with Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia.<\/p>\n

This time, he knows what to expect. And he\u2019s excited.<\/p>\n

Curious about COIL for your class or program? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Contact Victoria.surtees@ufv.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cStudy abroad is like a roller coaster \u2013 it looks scary but once you\u2019ve tried it, it\u2019s just really exciting, fun you know? The relationships you build in COIL \u2013 that\u2019s the push you need to ride that coaster.\u201d Ahmed Zammit \u201cWe learned that patience, openness, and respect are not just ideal values in intercultural … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":2133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2124"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2146,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124\/revisions\/2146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/tlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}