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    Working World Wide: The International Competence

    Exchange programme

    Do you want to prepare yourself for an international career? Do you want to learn about different cultures and how to adjust to different cultural settings? Do you want to understand what is written in newspapers or magazines about economic topics? Do you want to learn about future responsible leadership? Do you want to put this knowledge into practice during an international internship, voluntary work or research? Then choose this programme!

    The Working World Wide: The International Competence programme prepares you for an international career by providing a theoretical background and ways and means of applying this background in day-to-day reality. The theory which is acquired in the first part of the programme, will be put into practice in an international project during the second part of the programme: an international internship, voluntary work or research. International students can carry out their international project in The Netherlands.

    Though trade has been conducted across national boundaries for centuries, we have witnessed an amazing escalation of international business in the last few decades fueled by technological advancement, geo-political developments (such as the collapse of the former Soviet Union and Eastern bloc countries, newly emerging markets such as China, India, etc.) and the increasing power and influence of multinational corporations in our day-to-day lives. Companies around the world have increasingly turned their attention to foreign markets in order to maintain a competitive edge in today’s dynamic and intensely competitive marketplace. Indeed, it can be safely assumed that managers of large and medium-sized business enterprises and to some extent, those from smaller firms, will have to constantly monitor opportunities and threats in foreign markets if they are to survive, let alone succeed.

    In addition, due to migration, increasing mobility and technological developments, our living and working environments have become increasingly diverse. Nowadays, we are regularly in contact with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and many organisations deal with international clients, products or services on a daily basis. Therefore it is necessary to gain an international competence.  

    Facts and figures

    The programme at a glance

    Programme information

    A view of the study programme

    About the programme

    The programme consists of five modules:

    International context

    This module focuses on states and why and how they work together. In a globalising world this cooperation becomes even more important in order to combat cross border problems such as climate change, crime, drugs and human trafficking, conflict and migration, poverty, etc. However, depending on the form of cooperation (voluntary, mandatory, semi-voluntary) and level of integration of policies, this cooperation may also lead to (inter)dependency, decline of sovereignty and a loss of democratic control for citizens. International organisations such as the UN and the EU have played an important role after WWII. The European Union is a special and highly integrated form of cooperation and will receive extra attention in class with a visit to Luxemburg, a city in which several EU institutions are located.
    By means of research and critical analysis, you will build up a broad understanding of international cooperation, its strengths and its challenges. You will work individually but will also learn from the work of others.

    Culture

    Whether you approach the world from the perception of government, business or citizens, culture plays an important and often determining role in mutual relations. Culture is here not used in terms of the arts, but rather in the patterns of behaviour and thinking of groups of people up to the level of states. For this reason this topic plays an important part in this programme. In order to be able to handle cultural differences, it is important to have a good insight in your own culture. Therefore, we will use different theories and modules to describe culture on a national level and your own individual culture.

    International economics

    This module will further raise your knowledge of international economics that will allow you to understand the global challenges facing the world’s society and business. You will also think about the responses to those challenges from both governmental and business perspective. This knowledge is indispensable for a person working in an international context, either in government, a company or NGO. The course will focus on topics such as economic growth, unemployment, protectionism, exchange rate systems, fiscal and monetary policies. We will focus on challenges such as power differences between countries, discrimination, climate change and position of technological giants within the world economy.

    Future responsible leadership

    This module gives students an understanding as well as practical knowledge of both personal leadership and leadership within an organization. Every transition requires leadership: the will and ability to change, to see change as an opportunity, and to direct it from values and vision. Anticipating and responding to developments does not happen automatically, it requires choosing, innovating, experimenting, changing, investing, demonstrating, collaborating, and more. This requires leadership in all layers of the organization, from bottom to top. Leadership is not about everyone becoming a manager, or leading. It's about everyone knowing how to inspire change from their position, seeing change not as a threat, but as an opportunity. An opportunity to innovate and address new (international) markets. To face economic and social challenges.  

    International project

    Students organise their own international project for at least 392 hours. The international project can have different forms, e.g.  doing research, voluntary work or an internship. You may choose yourself what you would like to do as long as it is linked to your personal goals for this programme and to those of your own university programme. The requirements for your intern company or organisation are that they are able to provide you with an appropriate assignment, that they have an international focus and that they will give you support and guidance. The research will be on the basis of a pre-approved research plan.  

    In the 1st week of July students should indicate what kind of international project they would like to do and hand in an action plan for arranging the project.

    Method

    The way we work within this programme:

    The overarching objective of the Working World Wide programme is the development of an international competence. As mentioned, such a competence implies knowledge, skills and attitudes.

    The classes in which you will work on this knowledge, skills and attitudes, will be mostly physically. Classes will be as interactive as possible with a variety of activities.  This programme encompasses full time study during 5 months. This means you have to be available 40 hours a week. You will have approximately 16 hours of physical classes per week. So, you need to work the major part outside class, either individually or in teams with students from different programmes and countries. It implies that you have to decide yourself when you work on your assignments and how you organise the process in your team. You may split up the work between you or do things collectively. However, if you split up, you will have to discuss the results of your research between you. If you do not do so, you will only be aware of your own contribution and waste the benefit of learning from others and in doing so, not obtaining a picture as a whole.  

    Type of assessment

    Students will be assessed via portfolio’s with (reflection) reports, assignments, presentations and simulations. In addition, students will experience part of day-to-day reality through the international project. The form this project takes may vary considerably (traineeship, research, preparation of thesis, voluntary work, project), but in all cases the knowledge obtained during the first part of the programme has to be applied.  

    Learning outcomes

    The international competence refers to three overarching learning outcomes that students can obtain through international activities:

    • Intercultural competence: Students have the knowledge, attitudes and skills that enable them to interact successfully with people from diverse (linguistic and cultural) backgrounds.
    • International orientation: Students are informed about and engaged with, international organisations, topics and perspectives on:
      • Societal and global issues, such as inclusion, refugees, climate change and supranational institutions such as the European Union.
      • Disciplines and professions, such as international knowledge, techniques and perspectives on how to perform one’s profession.
      • Future responsible leadership.
      • International economics, such as economic growth, unemployment, protectionism, integration, exchange rate systems, fiscal and monetary policies, economics behind Brexit or trade conflicts between China and USA.
    • Personal qualities: An international experience can contribute to personal development and growth, such as becoming more independent, self-aware, flexible and adaptable. These competences are not merely acquired through, or relevant to, international contexts. However, they can be vital to the success of an international experience, as well as enhanced through such an experience.

    Calendar

    Fall 2024

    This programme will run from August 26th 2024 until January 28th 2025. One semester is divided into two blocks:

    Block 1: August 26th 2024 - November 3rd 2024

    • International Context (4 ECTS)
    • Culture (4 ECTS)
    • International Economics (4 ECTS)
    • Future Responsible Leadership (4 ECTS)

    Block 2: November 6th 2024 - January 28th 2025

    • International Project (14 ECTS)

    Awarding

    After completing your exchange programme at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, you will receive a:

    • Transcript of records

    Subjects

    An indication of the subjects you can expect

    After your study programme

    Career Perspectives

    Working World Wide gets you prepared for an international career by providing a theoretical background and ways and means of applying this background in day-to-day reality.

    Location Kralingse Zoom

    Where you can find us
    Foto van locatie Location Kralingse Zoom

    Kralingse Zoom

    Kralingse Zoom 91 3063 ND Rotterdam