A group selfie through Skype with students from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science and students from RMIT Vietnam.
RMIT Vietnam Director International Jogvan Klein said that enabling global experience opportunities for students at the University’s Vietnam campus is a key priority across all of its disciplines.
"We recently saw our students in Ho Chi Minh City engage with students from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science – all through Facebook and Skype.
"As part of their marketing assignment, the students needed to learn as much as they could about their peers in Holland and then based on the consumer profiles they had built up, present a product they thought would improve the lives of their Dutch peers.
"It's a great example of building skills in intercultural communication as well as the opportunity for a global experience at home," he said.
And is this a trend that we're seeing across higher education globally?
Shanahan said that shifting views about global and how global works is an important part to understanding global experiences in today’s world.
"Global is not out there; global starts here and extends physically and virtually in multiple ways as we explore and engage with the global community.
"For example, over 300 RMIT students with background across more than 40 countries recently applied for one of 100 places as part of a Common Purpose Global Leader Experience program held at RMIT Australia in Melbourne.
"This is a globally-delivered, industry connected learning experience that takes participants out of their comfort zones to develop the skills and networks needed to work across boundaries and become global leaders.
"RMIT's connection with Common Purpose, a British-based international leadership development organisation, is a great example of the way we actively seek partners who can work with us to expand our range of global experiences for students in creative ways.”
Both Shanahan and Klein recently presented at the RMIT Global Experience workshop hosted at RMIT Europe – an event attended by RMIT student exchange university partners from countries including Mexico, Canada and the Netherlands.
Story: Karen Matthews