Integrate international / intercultural competencies into your curriculum's skills framework - LEVEL 1

Category of recipe: Internationalisation through pedagogical activities and development of international skills (curriculum).

Objective: Developing global competence / employability skills; Improving academic quality / offer; Cultural exchange; Contributing to sustainable development; Ensure that programmes remain competitive and applicable.

Short description: This recipe shows you a possible way to integrate international/ intercultural competences in your curriculum’s skills framework. The aim is to give intercultural competences* a place in the learning outcomes of the typical graduate. In other words, having developed these skills or aptitudes will thus become a prerequisite for obtaining your diploma. In this Handbook, we offer you 2 levels of implementation to suit your current needs: Level 1: Improving your framework (small-scale adjustments to incorporate international/ intercultural elements)
Level 2: Restructuring the framework of the curriculum (more comprehensive changes to the degree programme’s structure)
The following recipe is addressing the Level 1. If you want to implement it at Level 2, the corresponding recipe is also available in this handbook.

Academic recognition: As the acquisition of the targeted competences is integrated into the curriculum’s skills framework, assessment will be systematic and formally recognised.

Level of difficulty: Medium

Calendar and time needed: Whenever you are able to modify the skills’ framework of your curriculum, and in any case before presenting to the students what’s expected from them at the end of the courses that are concerned by such changes

Cost summary: No funds needed.

Language and level required: Not applicable.

Ingredients:
A degree programme already equipped with an existing skills framework.
A designated leader to coordinate the process of modifying the skills framework.
A team of professors who are:

Convinced about the benefits and added value of international & intercultural skills for personal and professional development.
Ready to invest themselves in this process.
Willing to communicate on the benefits of international & intercultural skills to students.

Roles and Responsibilities:
The Head of the degree programme must facilitate the overall process.
The designated leader of the process must coordinate the action of modifying the skills framework, and the relations between the pedagogical team and pedagogical engineers (if your university do have such a service).
Several members (ideally all members) of the pedagogical team must be involved in the skills’ framework modification process.
International relations’ officers (of your faculty, or at central level) must remain available to provide support (ex: logistical support to organise the meetings).
The Advisor in Internationalisation of your university must remain available to provide support at all the stages of the process. His role is to provide you with specific tools (designed for this purpose and to save time) and supportive resources (PPT presentations, scientific insight / recent bibliography to prove the benefits of international skills, benchmark of good practices at international level, arguments in favour of the approach, etc.).

Recipe steps:
Step 1: Rally your teaching team around this goal

Identify colleagues willing to be involved in the internationalisation process of your degree programme and, specifically, in modifying the skills framework.
Organise an information meeting with these colleagues, instructional designers, international relations officers, and the Advisor in Internationalisation to explain the approach and benefits of integrating international/intercultural skills.

Step 2: Needs analysis and key considerations

Gather your pedagogical team (don't hesitate to ask Instructional designers for help at this stage) and designate a leader of the process
Define the general profile of a graduate (skills and knowledge required).

Start by drawing up the general profile of the typical graduate student (if not existing yet). [At this stage, draw the ‘general profile’ of your graduate student, without integrating yet the international dimension. This will be the following step]. Agree on all the skills developed by the students at the end of the programme, what they need to know and be able to do, in relation to professional expectations, for example. Those learning outcomes1 describe what students should be able to do by the end of the curriculum. Learning outcomes of a degree programme are cross-cutting objectives which are related to, but different from, teaching aims, which instead describe broadly what the session or course is about and its overall purpose.
Once you have finalised the general profile of the graduate student, identify where the international and intercultural dimension comes into play in the learning process, to draw-up an international sub-profile of the graduate student. Ask yourselves: what are the expectations of the pedagogical team regarding the capacity of students to work efficiently in an international and/or intercultural context. What should students learn from their international and/or intercultural experiences, in terms of the values and requirements of the degree programme, and the career opportunities associated with it? Ex: what would be the added value of an internship abroad compared to an internship at home? Make it consistent with the expectations of the semi-professional players.

Determine where international/intercultural aspects naturally fit into the curriculum.
Compare your graduate profile with existing international skills frameworks to find common ground: compare your “international graduate sub-profile” (see previous step) with international reference documents on international skills. There are 2 ways to proceed here:

In case your university has already adopted an international skills framework, directly take inspiration from it. You can also pick “ready-to-use” skills in there, to draw-up the international graduate sub-profile.
If your institution hasn’t selected a specific existing framework, compare your “international graduate sub-profile” (see previous step), with any international skills’ framework that you feel is sufficiently robust to serve as a benchmark. See if there are affinities/possible connections to enrich your initial brainstorming. Below are a few examples of existing frameworks (see the Resources section).

Step 3: Modify your curriculum skills’ framework: If you have chosen to implement this recipe at Level 1, the goal is to embed international and intercultural elements into the existing curriculum without major restructuring.
Follow these concrete steps:

Step 3.1: Identify integration points: Review the current skills framework to mark where global or intercultural elements can naturally be incorporated (e.g., course descriptions, learning outcomes, assessment methods).

Review your current skills framework and mark places where global or intercultural skills naturally fit.
Look at course descriptions, learning outcomes, and assessment methods.
dentify subjects where global perspectives already exist (e.g., business, humanities, sciences).
Questions to ask:

Do any courses cover international regulations, case studies, or cross-cultural communication?
Are students expected to collaborate in teams? If so, could they work on intercultural group projects?
Are there courses where international guest speakers, virtual exchanges, or case studies could be added?

Step 3.2: Adjust Learning Outcomes to Reflect Global Skills

Modify learning outcomes in existing courses to reflect international and intercultural competencies.
Example of adjustments to Learning Outcomes:

Step 3.3. Modify teaching methods to include an international component - Introduce small, manageable activities in existing courses:

Case studies & examples

Use international case studies (e.g., global companies, international policies, cultural comparisons).
Example: In a marketing class, discuss Coca-Cola’s advertising in different countries and how cultural norms impact messaging.

Intercultural group work

Form groups that mix students from different backgrounds and assign projects requiring global perspectives.
Example: In a business class, have students analyse how different cultures negotiate business deals.

Virtual collaboration
- Set up online exchanges with universities abroad (even a single guest lecture or short-term project).
- Example: A computer science course could include a project with students from another country solving a tech challenge together.
Multilingual elements (if applicable)

Encourage students to work with sources in different languages.
Example: A political science class could analyse news reports from international sources instead of only local media.

Guest speakers & industry connections

Invite international professionals or alumni working abroad for guest lectures.
Example: A law course could have a lawyer specialising in international human rights speak about legal challenges across countries.

Step 3.4. Align assessment methods with international competencies - To assess international skills without adding new exams, tweak existing assessments:

      Instead of: A standard essay on leadership  

      Assign: An essay comparing leadership styles in two different cultures  

      Instead of: A business pitch  

      Assign: A business pitch targeted for different international markets  

      Instead of: A final project on local sustainability issues  

      Assign: A project analysing global sustainability efforts in multiple countries

Step 3.5. Document & communicate the changes

Update syllabi and course descriptions to reflect international and intercultural competencies.
Inform professors, students, and administrators about the changes and their benefits.
Promote the initiative via university websites, faculty meetings, and student portals.
Monitor and adjust based on feedback from students and faculty.

Non-mandatory items

Name of the author of the recipe: Yannick Vidal and Ingrid Le Ru (USMB)
Resource: International skills frameworks that can be consulted:
Central Connecticut State University: International/Intercultural Competencies for CCSU Students, developed by the Internationalization Laboratory - 2008 : Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills.
UNESCO Competency Framework, AKI Erasmus+, Global Steps competency framework, P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning , WEF 21st century skills, Erasmus skills framework (AKI), UNICEF skills framework, KeyStart2Work.
Or any other skills framework that seems relevant to your pedagogical team.

Tips and tricks:

A well-designed international competency framework should be dynamic, recognised, and practical, enhancing graduates' employability and mobility on a global scale.
Person to contact for further information: Advisor in internationalisation of your university.
Ask your administrative colleagues to communicate on the recognition of these skills on the webpage dedicated to the online training offer. There is a real challenge in communicating this offer to attract more students to your courses.