Building Intercultural Competencies and Skills for Business Students

Description

The purpose of this project is to develop a systematic co-curricular program that prepares students for the complex cultural learning environment at Schulich and York University more generally. Schulich brings together a heterogenous student population with diverse national, cultural, social and economic backgrounds. As students encounter different viewpoints, values and practices, it produces on the one hand a vibrant intellectual environment and on the other a need for awareness of and respect for “differences in cultures, people and thinking” (UAP). The lack of a systematic training module for inter-cultural competencies stands in stark contrast to the need for our students to negotiate cultural differences in a competent and effective manner. In short, we need to enable our students to succeed in creating an inclusive academic and professional environment. The project aims to produce modules that equip students with the inter-cultural competencies required to thrive in a diverse cultural environment.