Conestoga has joined an international initiative supporting virtual collaboration to enrich learning and foster global diversity. The Consortium of Virtual Exchange (CoVE) will act as a resource to educators and administrators while offering a platform for students around the world to work virtually on joint projects.
The consortium builds on established partnerships already offering virtual exchange projects to post-secondary students in several countries. Conestoga is among CoVE’s founding member institutions, which also includes Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (Germany), Middle Tennessee State University (United States), Politécnico de Viseu (Portugal), University of Cape Coast (Ghana) and University of Nairobi (Kenya).
“Virtual exchange is a meaningful educational experience that provides a global perspective for students as they interchange ideas, reflect on diversity and create collaborative content using digital communication skills,” said Wendi Hulme, CoVE’s executive director and a professor in Conestoga’s Bachelor of Interior Design program. “This tool can intensify and complement an active and meaningful discourse on global issues, encompassing opportunities to work interdisciplinary while enhancing multiple and multimodal literacies.”
Students in Conestoga’s Bachelor of Interior Design program have participated in the ProGlobe virtual exchange project since 2018 as part of curriculum. The project connects students in North America and Europe as they explore sustainability within a global context, culminating with a virtual conference to present findings. ProGlobe is one of two unique programs currently hosted by the newly formed consortium.
In addition to providing a platform for student collaboration, CoVE will share best practices as well as outcomes of conducted research. The consortium seeks to build a community of practitioners that encourages virtual exchange.
For more information, visit CoVE.