“It’s all worth it,” said CTU Danao academic Lislee Valle, referencing the information she got despite the long hours spent during the Intercultural Awareness and Cultural Diversity: Massive Online Open Course (IACD-MOOC) on March 31st.
One of the 29 faculty members who joined the session, Valle spoke of her experience that reflected the mandate of Erasmus+ project: Furthering International Relations Capacities and Intercultural Engagement to Nurture Campus Diversity and to Support Internationalization at Home (FRIENDS).
“The discussions were about culture, cultural diversity, gender and gender role, intercultural communication, including business etiquette, and the history of the European Union. I also loved listening to the sharing of students and professionals who had traveled in different parts of the world to learn different cultures. I could easily relate to the discussion because the Philippines is also rich in culture, owing to a series of colonizations.”
IACD-MOOC is one of FRIENDS’ key outcomes that seeks to cultivate intercultural competence among its member institutions in Europe and in Asia.
Her participation in the Erasmus-backed capacity building activity was prompted by CTU Internationalization and ASEAN Integration (IAI) Office that mobilized campus chairpersons, including Prof. Carmencita Quino of CTU Danao, whom she said brought her the opportunity.
“The knowledge gained [from the activity] can be applied in our everyday life. I encourage everyone to register to enjoy the videos and the assignments,” she added, raising awareness on the pragmatic side of multiculturalism.
Participants were given international certificates equivalent to a 54-hour course.
Meanwhile, 39 students across CTU campuses were given intercultural passports after completing several modules on cultural diversity months before. They are expected to join the boot camp in Bulgaria this summer after it got cancelled last year due to COVID-19 pandemic. Sarah Jane Colina/ICPA Danao