COIL Courses, FHNW School of Business

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) has the following 5 characteristics:

• Lecturers AND students collaborate in COIL.
• COIL is usually conducted entirely online. It may be preceded, accompanied, or followed by a physical exchange of faculty and/or students. 
• COIL involves teachers and students from at least two different educational institutions, which may be in different countries (international) or in different parts of one country (intercultural).
• In COIL lecturers moderate the international collaboration and provide cultural mediation to facilitate collaborative learning.
• Lecturers moderate or initiate students’ reflection on the international collaboration: they encourage reflection on students’ expectations and perceptions, they conceptualise learnings, and they may add context. This process can be part of the COIL or part of the preparation beforehand or a follow-up.

As a student of the FHNW School of Business you can register for a COIL using the regular course registration tool.
Search for the title of the module and follow the usual registration procedure. Please note that access is only available with a student login and during the corresponding registration times.

All COILs are integrated into the regular curriculum. Depending on the programme in which students are enrolled, the COIL may be part of the core curriculum or an elective. Students receive credits for the course studied – plus all the benefits of an international opportunity.

Most COILs are taught in English – but not all of them. There are German COILs as well where universities from Germany, Austria and Switzerland "coil" together with the FHNW School of Business. Check out the specific COIL to find out more about the teaching language and language requirements.

Students at the FHNW School of Business can replace a German course in their curriculum with a similar English course from another programme and vice versa – students should discuss this option with the Dean of their respective study-programmes.

COIL helps develop the intercultural intelligence that is much needed in a multicultural society, an internationalised workforce, and a global economy. Through international exposure, COIL helps students learn to interact in culturally diverse environments and to understand and appreciate different cultural concepts. They become more open-minded, well-informed, flexible and competent members of society.

When students travel for a guest lecture, a two-week course, or a study abroad trip, they use several resources.
When students join a COIL, they use only standard study equipment. We at the FHNW School of Business are very supportive of our students' physical mobility. We do a lot to facilitate and encourage it. But there are obvious limitations. Not all students are able to travel and spend time abroad. COIL helps protect the environment and conserve resources while providing many of the benefits of international exposure.

The vast majority of students do not benefit from a semester abroad experience for a variety of reasons. COIL creates international experiences for all students, including students with disabilities, students with parental or caregiving responsibilities, students with inadequate financial resources, students in military service, and students who are employed while studying. Every student can COIL!

A Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) can take many forms. So far, we at the FHNW School of Business distinguish between three different sizes of COIL: Small, Medium, Large.

• Small: Interactive elements such as a webinar, cross-university group work, or a shared collaboration tool such as a padlet can connect a course at the FHNW School of Business with a course at one of its partner universities.
  
• Medium: Parts of a course may be taught by a team of lecturers from partner universities together with lecturers from the FHNW School of Business, e.g. the COIL Sustainability Marketing & Ethics. Students from different universities work together for several weeks, meet up for online lectures, meet up with each other in groups and solve problems in cross-cultural teams.
• Large: Entire courses can be designed as collaborations between partner universities and the FHNW School of Business. Comprehensive COILs connect students for a large part of the semester and form tight teams between lecturers and students from different universities.