Empowering future technology leaders through inclusive, international collaboration, these workshops brought together students from the UK, South Africa, and China to design innovative sustainability solutions, fostering cross-cultural understanding, teamwork, and practical problem-solving skills for a global workforce.

Introduction

The School of Computing at University of Leeds approached us to facilitate this special project to help prepare computer science students to enter the global, online, world of work in the technology industry.

The Brief

In collaboration with the University of Pretoria, University of the Witwatersrand and Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, and Southwest Jiaotong University in China, University of Leeds wished to bring students together in a collaborative online international learning (COIL) environment to design community-centred environmental monitoring solutions.

Key objectives included:

  • Promoting cross-cultural collaboration and understanding.
  • Encouraging hands-on learning and problem-solving in a global context.
  • Addressing real-world issues through innovative technology.

Students included a mix of UI designers, data scientists, and computer scientists from these UK, Chinese, and South African universities.

Our Approach

We designed and led two facilitated collaborative online learning sessions for nearly 200 students, supported by asynchronous interactions on Microsoft Teams in the lead up to the sessions. The workshops were designed to foster international collaboration among students from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds, to acknowledge and support a range of cultural perspectives.

Drawing on both our technology and inclusion expertise, we structured these sessions to follow a design thinking process, to guide the students to form effective teams and design solutions to sustainability challenges using LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) environmental sensors.

Students were encouraged to focus on the South African context, and were empowered to propose locally relevant, authentic problems for their project. We created structured tasks and Microsoft Whiteboards to map the ideation and design process, through which students brought their ideas and innovations to life!

The workshops were conducted virtually over Microsoft Teams in two sessions. The first session served as an introduction for students to meet each other and teams to form. Students shared their favourite mobile apps, providing a light-hearted way to break the ice and explore cultural differences. In the main activity session, students worked in groups of up to 10 to brainstorm and design their LoRaWAN systems. Each group presented their ideas to peers, facilitators, and lecturers, with facilitators from Inclusioneering and each university ensuring smooth collaboration and technical support.

World map showing the locations of Leeds, Wits, Pretoria, Nelson Mandela and Southwest Jaitong universities

Outcomes

The workshops sparked the imagination of the student teams, and resulted in many innovative solutions to sustainability challenges, including:

  • A poaching detection system: Real-time monitoring to combat illegal wildlife poaching.
  • An extreme weather prediction system: Advanced forecasts to help communities prepare for extreme weather.
  • Plant health monitoring system: Tools to detect invasive species and enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability.

Impact

The workshops provided invaluable insights into the benefits and challenges of international collaboration for the partner universities:

  • Cultural sensitivity: Encouraging curiosity, and prioritising respectful communication and inclusivity enhanced the collaborative experience.
  • Technical preparedness: Pre-testing platforms and offering real-time support minimised disruptions.
  • Facilitator training: Clear pre-session planning ensured staff from each university were well-equipped to facilitate student groups.

Feedback from both staff and students has been phenomenal. Students learned a balance of technical and soft skills, built confidence in cross-cultural communication, and loved having the opportunity to collaborate with peers around the world!

Looking ahead, plans are underway to host the next COIL workshops, building on these learnings to create an more impactful experience.

Inclusioneering’s expertise in creating and facilitating inclusive collaborative environments was instrumental in ensuring effective cross-cultural communication and equitable participation across the international student teams.

Dr Julian Brooks, University of Leeds
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