What is Virtual Exchange?

Virtual exchange is an accessible, groundbreaking international experience, which leverages on new technologies and a common lingua franca, and does not entail physical mobility.

Organised jointly between at least two international universities, Virtual exchange is a training activity consisting of little traditional/lecture-based teaching so to encourage a student-centred and leaner-led collaborative experience aimed at developing a common project and/or discussing interdisciplinary topics with a challenged-based approach.

The groups of international students meet remotely on collaborative platforms either autonomously or with a facilitator, who encourages active participation of group members and helps create a positive and collaborative debate without interfering with the contents of the course.

Virtual exchange differs from other forms of online learning in the following ways:

  • the emphasis is primarily on interpersonal interaction and dialogue, instead, in most online education programmes, the main focus is on the content of education
  • learning is experimental in nature, when participants gain direct experience of communication and cooperation with fellow participants from different cultures and different living conditions
  • learning goals and outcomes include social skills necessary for future employment which are rarely formally recognised as necessary (development of intercultural competence, media and digital literacy, teamwork, etc.)
  • virtual exchange develops mainly at the initiative of the participant, not the leader: the philosophy of dialogue dominates here, participants are the main drivers of knowledge.

Why Should You Participate?

Virtual Exchange gives you the opportunity to:

  • develop and strengthen soft skills, which are the key to enter the labour market (teamwork, ability to work with people from different cultural background, communicate in a foreign language, learning different communicative styles, adapting your communication style to the audience and cultural context)
  • foster your being a global citizen, by looking at diversity as a value
  • explore interdisciplinary topics which are not usually addressed in a traditional study curriculum
  • develop your digital skills, especially remote interaction and group work on sharing platforms
  • get ready for physical mobility, by avoiding culture shock and facilitating integration in the receiving country
  • make new friends
  • get past your ‘comfort zone’

Credits Recognition

Your participation in Virtual Exchange projects can be recognised in different ways.

If the course unit is included in the educational offer, the University will recognise the ECTS credits as:

  • in or off-plan elective course unit (with mark/ ‘passed’ status)
  • binding activity, if included in the course unit of the relevant lecturer
  • traineeship activity

Virtual Exchange Programmes