Language Centre
European Dialogue Project 2014
The European Dialogue Project is an online collaboration project developed by four European Universities (Regina Brautlacht, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Germany; Csilla Ducrocq, Ecole Nationale de Statistique et Administration des Entreprises, Paris, France; Professor Franca Poppi, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy; Doctor Lurdes Martins, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Portugal) carried out for the first time in the spring of 2014. 20 German students participated in this project as part of the Master’s degree for Management Accounting and Management Control.
The European Dialogue Project aims to encourage international communication between students from European countries in English - using English as a lingua franca. 80 students worked in international teams online and discussed issues related to values in Germany, Italy, Portugal, and France. The teams designed and carried out a survey to assess students’ views on specific topics related the theme of the project. They worked online using various Web 2.0 tools to communicate with each other.
Students’ evaluations:
"To me the most useful aspect of the project was the possibility to experience a multicultural work environment. It was a chance to develop not only English competence but also intercultural communication strategies."
"Start early and have fun with the other team members. It is very interesting and better than normal class. Use the opportunity!"
"Stay calm and enjoy this project from the beginning because it's very funny and interesting to communicate with colleagues from other degrees programmes and areas."
"We finished our project and delivered the expected results. Every member was very collaborative, supportive and results-oriented."
"It was a great experience and everyone took part in it."
"I think that our group was great and we had good colleagues despite some misunderstandings. I think I will miss this project."
"I learned that we have to respect other people's opinions and work with what we've got."
"I learned how to deal with foreign people with a different cultural background and how to cooperate successfully with them."