Internationalisation @ Home

As a buddy, you support exchange students before and during their stay, for example with organisational questions, their arrival in Hamburg, or initial steps such as administrative procedures and study organisation. Shared leisure activities are also part of the programme. The exact arrangements are flexible and depend on individual needs and available opportunities. You can find further information and the registration option here.

The Certificate Intercultural Competence (CIC) enables students to document their extracurricular intercultural engagement in addition to their regular academic achievements, and to highlight it, for example, in future job applications. Further information can be found here.

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is an innovative teaching approach in which students and lecturers from different higher education institutions worldwide collaborate in virtual teams. The aim is to systematically integrate international perspectives into teaching and to strengthen intercultural and subject-specific competencies in a digital environment.

At the Faculty of Education, COIL seminars are regularly offered as part of the Internationalization at Home concept. This enables students to gain international learning experiences without having to complete a study abroad period.

Example of a previous COIL seminar:

"Online International Student Exchange: School Context, Teaching Design, and Teacher Professionalization"
(Priority topics seminar for Master’s students in their first semester)

This seminar brought together students from four international partner universities in a digital exchange format:

• University of Pretoria (South Africa)
• Griffith University (Australia)
• Jai Hind College (India)
• Universität Hamburg (Germany)

Course format and requirements:

• Acquisition of 5 ECTS credits within the study programme
• Additional micro-certificate from Griffith University
• 6 joint online seminar sessions with students from all partner universities (teaching language: English)
• 7 in-person follow-up sessions at the University of Hamburg (teaching language: English or German)
• Use of a reserved seminar room (VMP8) during the online sessions
• Provision of literature and course materials via Microsoft Teams

Thematic focus areas

• Investment Theory and Motivation
• Digital Devices in Education
• Inclusion and Differentiation
• Postcolonial Perspectives in Education

Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) promote innovative learning and teaching methods and offer students the opportunity to combine a short physical mobility period (5–30 days) with a virtual component (no fixed duration). At least three partner higher education institutions from different programme countries cooperate in a BIP and develop short, intensive joint curricula and activities. Further information can be found here.

The INTER project offers a wide range of opportunities to experience internationalisation from home. For example, participation in seminars taught by international guest lecturers can be a suitable way to do so.

The PIASTA programme offers a platform for intercultural exchange and transcultural life at the University of Hamburg each semester. Further information can be found here.

The Language Centre of the University of Hamburg offers students free language courses in various languages. Further information can be found here.

Through various cooperation programmes students at the University of Hamburg have the opportunity to take one or more courses at partner universities abroad from their home desk. Further information can be found here.