Achill 2009 Borrowed Identities in a nutshell

Summary of the overall project:

“Borrowed Identities” is an Intensive Seminar on Achill Island, Ireland, for students from 5 different countries. From 8 - 20 February 2008, the European students meet for international teamwork and for putting their knowledge of intercultural communication into practice.

The project “Borrowed Identity” aims at creating an intercultural learning environment based on virtual and real mobility.
The multi-disciplinary project is targeted to Business, Technical and Humanities students in Germany, Sweden, Spain, UK and Hungary and will focus on combining computer mediated academic work, face-to-face meetings and intercultural communication.

• Phase ONE: preparatory E-Learning course at the participating universities  Oct.-Dec.
• Phase TWO: 11-day Intensive Program on Achill Island, Ireland, early Feb.

This combination will provide students with a new perspective of their own cultural identity as students and the cultural identity of their foreign fellow students and hosts in Ireland. Their work will focus on analyzing as well as “putting into practice” common theories and models of intercultural communication and the management of cultural diversity.  Role-plays, workshops and seminars will allow students to explore the dimensions of culture in a growing European Union, which involves issues related to gender, age, race and nationality. 

• for reference check out last year’s Intensive Program, especially the travelogue

www.rheinahrcampus.de/international/projects/achill2007/index.htm

Below is a set of tasks that students will be expected to complete in preparation for their residential stay on Achill Island. The tasks will be embedded in the teaching at the respective universities. During the residential stay in Ireland, the students will continue to explore the concepts of “identity and culture” and take part in a series of workshops.  Students will also be asked to maintain an on-line learning blog that will detail their work and include their reflections on each task.