Do you want to help others develop their intercultural competence?

“How can we develop in ourselves and others the necessary mastery and concomitant humility required to be effective across cultures?” In our rapidly globalizing world, with increasing demands on our ability to collaborate with others from diverse backgrounds, the competence to bridge cultural differences is necessary for any sustainable, pluralistic society.

If you have the responsibility to develop this intercultural competence in others, the Winter School on Intercultural Competence is for you. The programme is intended for professionals in the fields of intercultural competence development and internationalisation. It offers a comprehensive overview of intercultural training design with an emphasis on using developmental approaches to enhance cultural learning. It addresses questions such as: “How do I structure effective training?” “What kinds of participants can I encounter and how do I tailor my training to their needs?” “How do I deal with various kinds of resistance in a group?”

“This training provided me with tools & concepts that I can use in my work to address intercultural competence to support staff and students to become more culturally sensitive.”“I have learned that it is important to know where I am (what my own intercultural competence is) and what is possible to change or not before reaching out and teaching others.”

Following the success of previous years' Schools, the Centre for Language and Culture is pleased to once again welcome Dr. Nagesh Rao, senior faculty member at the Intercultural Communication Institute and Chair of the Department of Social Medicine at Ohio University. He brings special insights to the University of Groningen on how the intercultural dimension influences our perspectives on social medicine.

“Nagesh is a strong story-teller and I loved the stories from his personal experience he shared with us. They were powerful in visualizing abstract concepts. He also showed humility and created a very safe leaning environment.”“He was very enthusiastic and open-minded. Curious to hear our stories and the expertise of each of the group members.”

There is a saying that “curiosity killed the cat.” But conceivably, in intercultural relations, a lack of curiosity is more of a problem.

So, if you are curious and wish to develop your ability to foster intercultural sensitivity in others, apply to the Winter School on Intercultural Competence! With an emphasis on using developmental approaches to decrease learner resistance, the offered programme will cover everything from communication and thinking styles to intercultural training methods and resources.

…Unleash the creative and innovative potential of cultural diversity!

Requirements

This Winter School is intended for professionals in the field(s) of intercultural competence/internationalization. You have been selected on the basis of your interest in Intercultural Competence as expressed in a brief motivational letter and can subscribe for this course.

More information about the application procedure can be found here.

Practical information

This year's Winter School will take place from 23-27 January 2023, on campus. 

*The intention is that the Winter School take place live and on-site. Yet, experience has taught us that Covid might require us to transition to an online environment. Please indicate in your application if and how this would influence your application.