Award-winning CANEU CO-OP program helps students become global-ready graduates

It’s an interconnected world that we live in—approximately 7 million students will be engaged in international mobility by 2022, according to the Canadian Bureau of International Education. Understanding how to communicate effectively with coworkers from culturally diverse backgrounds is a career-building strength in today’s global workplace—a strength that is being fostered by the University of Victoria’s international co-operative education (co-op) program.

The award winning Canada-Europe Co-op (CANEU-COOP) program is one of many international co-op programs where students can build these coveted skills.

A partnership between UVic, University of Waterloo and two European institutions, CANEU-COOP goes beyond other simple exchanges with the intentional development of cross-cultural competencies. Students rate themselves before, during and after on knowledge, skills and attributes such as intercultural motivation, intercultural knowledge, strategic thinking and appropriate behaviour.

“We encourage all of our students who complete international co-op terms to consider how their own backgrounds impact their workplace behaviour and to learn as much as possible about the culture of the community they are working in,” says Karima Ramji, manager of International Programs with UVic Co-op. “Students think about their own assumptions and work hard to recognize and adapt to cultural nuances in the workplace and beyond.”

CANEU-COOP has been so successful that the BC Council for International Education (BCCIE) recently recognized it with an award for Outstanding Program in International Education.

For Evyn Haberstock, a UVic business student who recently completed her CANEU work term in Germany, the whole experience was an eye opener. “I was really aware of how to behave appropriately on my work term, and to adjust my communication style to fit with the company I worked for,” she says. “It’s impacted my email style in Canada too—I’m much more brief with my language.” The company Evyn worked for also has branches in Canada, which means she has an opportunity to implement her intercultural lessons in her home country.

In addition to the competency framework, CANEU-COOP uses a unique hybrid exchange model: UVic students travel to Austria or Germany on a four-month work term, where they are paired with European students. Both students often work for the same European employer and the following term they both return to UVic, where the European student attends class. Research collected from European and Canadian program participants shows a significant growth in their cultural intelligence.

“We’ve found that pairing students gives them a built-in support network and enhances their ability to develop their intercultural competencies,” says Ramji.

THE CANEU-COOP program was one of UVic’s first international co-op exchanges to combine the competency assessment framework with a hybrid-exchange model, and this has been replicated by UVic co-op for similar programs in China, Brazil and around the world.

For more information about Co-op and Career Services and the international co-op program, visit uvic.ca/coopandcareer.