New Books in Language

Intercultural Competence in the Digital Age

Mar 11, 2025

Dr. Amy McHugh, an Academic Facilitator at the National Centre for Cultural Competence, shares her insights on the intersection of technology and intercultural competence. She dives into her doctoral thesis on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), discussing its impact on cultural skills in virtual exchanges. The conversation highlights the complexities of cultural understanding, especially in post-COVID education, and emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and AI in promoting anti-racism and deeper empathy in digital communications.

34:54

Episode guests

Dr Amy McHugh

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Dr. Amy McHugh emphasizes that intercultural competence should be assessed through relational experiences rather than just self-reported measures.

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) offers students a platform for global engagement, transcending geographical barriers and enriching cultural understanding.

Deep dives

The Journey to Intercultural Competence

Pursuing a PhD in intercultural competence can often be an unplanned but impactful journey. Dr. Amy McHugh shares her experience transitioning from public relations to academia, ultimately embracing intercultural communication through teaching and collaborative online international learning (COIL). Her desire stemmed from observing students' limitations in experiencing diverse cultures firsthand. This led to her research in virtual exchanges as a means for students to develop intercultural competence despite geographical barriers.

Intro

6min

Navigating Intercultural Competence in Digital Learning

10min

Navigating Intercultural Competence Post-COVID

7min

Navigating Communication Challenges in Healthcare

6min

Enhancing Intercultural Competence Through Self-Reflection and AI

5min

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr Amy McHugh, an Academic Facilitator at the National Centre for Cultural Competence at the University of Sydney. Dr McHugh’s research focuses on the roles of technology and motivation in the continuous pursuit of cultural competence, and she facilitates workshops for both staff and students at the University of Sydney on these topics while working as the unit coordinator for the centre’s OLE: The Fundamentals of Cultural Competence. She also teaches online courses to undergraduate and graduate students in intercultural communication for the State University of New York at Oswego.

In this episode, Brynn and Amy discuss Amy’s doctoral thesis entitled “Learning From Student Perceptions and Peer Feedback in a Virtual Exchange: Reconceptualizing Intercultural Competence as ‘ICCCSA’ – Intercultural Competence as a Co-Constructed and Situated Achievement”. This thesis explored Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and its influence on (inter)cultural competence in digital spaces.

References in this episode include the Intersectionality Matters Podcast, the National Centre for Cultural Competence and How to be Anti-Racist by Dr Ibram X. Kendi

For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here.

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