International Online Learning With Athena School of Management

Between 19^th February to 12^th March 2021, 16 levels 6 and 7 Business and Law students from the Faculty of Business and Law participated in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project with 26 PG students of Athena School of Management, India (Athena).

During the four weeks of COIL, students learnt about the topic of The Future Workplace and worked in teams on group presentations titled “The Impact of Digital Transformation In The Workplace On Low Skilled Workers v. Professionals”. The online presentations are of an excellent standard. Congratulations to team 1, The Modern Silk Road and team 2, The Innovation Geeks, for winning the best presentation prize.

Dr Alison Lui, Associate Dean Global Engagement of the Faculty of Business and Law led the project with Professor Aditya Singh of Athena. Along with Dr Lui and Professor Singh, Maureen Royce, Dr Madeline Petzer, Joshi Jariwala and Dave Pickles of Capula delivered the COIL sessions. Reflecting on this project, Dr Lui commented: “The feedback from both staff and students on this COIL experience has been really positive. I am pleased that despite the ongoing pandemic, those involved in this project found it very fruitful to collaborate and learn online with international colleagues. Most of all, everyone had fun during the past four weeks. Many thanks to all those involved and to Tim Nichol, PVC for the Faculty of Business and Law, for starting this partnership.”

Emin Karakus, a LL.M Qualifying Law student commented on his experience:“It was an outstanding project to be involved in. It was my first online project and I would like to participate in that kind of project again to broaden my knowledge and skills in terms of collaboration.”

Millie Tang, a Level 6 BA (Hons) Human Resources Management Student said: “I enjoyed this project very much, I got to meet different people, learn about other cultures and work ethics and most importantly meet some great people.

It was a project that took me out of my comfort zone at first, but within the first meeting, my group had a warm and welcoming atmosphere and we got along very well. It was an insightful and interesting experience and I would do it again!”

Elle Maguire, another Level 6 BA (Hons) Human Resources Management Student, enjoyed the teamwork: “I have gained a deeper understanding of what it means to work as a team. I am a big believer that every experience makes you grow. The COIL project helped me grow both professionally and as a person. Thank you to my team- the enthusiasm in each meeting made it a fantastic experience for me!”

Dhruv Rana, a PG Management student from Athena commented; “I got to learn a lot from the experiences of the learned faculties and professors each week.  The topic itself was quite challenging but easy to approach, looking towards the new normal, technology would surely be taking over the majority of jobs in major professional sectors, but in order to compete with the said routines on daily basis, it’s an individual responsibility and self-motivation to learn and upgrade on regular basis”.