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.
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.
Redefining Intercultural Competence
Intercultural competence is often misconstrued as merely acquiring a checklist of cultural norms, but this view overlooks the nuanced reality of individual interactions. Dr. McHugh emphasizes the need to assess competence through relational experiences rather than self-reported measures alone. This perspective acknowledges that students may perceive their peers differently, creating discrepancies in self-assessment. By exploring these differences, Dr. McHugh highlights how deeper understanding and intersectionality can enhance the learning experience in intercultural settings.
COIL: A Tool for Global Engagement
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) provides a unique platform for students to engage with peers across the globe, simulating intercultural experiences without the need for physical travel. Dr. McHugh discusses COIL’s value, particularly for students who cannot study abroad due to financial or personal constraints. Though COIL offers significant opportunities for learning, it presents challenges such as the need for clear communication and the management of power dynamics within partnerships. Emphasizing the importance of empathy and relational engagement, she posits that successful interactions foster a more profound intercultural understanding.
Future Directions in Intercultural Research
As digital communication becomes increasingly prevalent, the study of intercultural competence must evolve to address the complexities of virtual interactions. Dr. McHugh envisions integrating new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to facilitate discussions around anti-racism and develop critical self-reflection tools. This approach aims to ensure that cultural competence frameworks recognize the intersectionality of identities in relationships. By focusing on both personal and cultural understandings, the goal is to create a more empathetic and effective engagement in increasingly globalized contexts.
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.