Innovative Business Projects as an Enabler to Enhance Intercultural and Management Skills of Students

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a study conducted among a sample of German and South African students participating in a virtual collaboration project in 2016. This blended learning international cooperation project (abbreviation: BLIC) involved students working for one semester in a virtual business setting in mixed teams across the two countries, thereby improving intercultural and management skills. Important goals of the project were the preparation of the students for the international workplace and the accumulation of intercultural experiences in an early stage during their studies. Lecturers from a German and a South African university supported the students during the whole project as coaches. The students had to coordinate a new international business expansion project within their team of German und South African members. The students also took part in an online-survey to analyse and evaluate the various students’ perceptions of the BLIC project. Besides the presentation of the main results of the initial running of the BLIC study, several educational and practical implications are derived and limitations are discussed.