Communication in Mobile and Virtual Work Erasmus Project

Project Title

Communication in Mobile and Virtual Work

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The changes in working life and development of communication technology have led to a need to teach new kinds of digital communication and language skills, cultural awareness and new media attitude. Studies (Varhelahti 2017) show that literacy skills of staff do not meet the requirements of mobile/virtual work and there is a gap between the skills of the graduates and the expectations of the employers. CoMoViWo responded to this by developing methods and learning modules for teaching skills needed in intercultural working contexts when using either English or Spanish as a lingua franca in mobile or virtual communication.

CoMoViWo aimed to improve the employability of students by developing relevant communication literacy thus providing skilled staff for virtual work and to improve the competitiveness of companies with skilled staff and enhance sustainability through virtual work as well as to support HEI’s adaptation of required changes. A review and research was conducted to describe the communication literacy needed in virtual/mobile work in a multilingual and –cultural environment, to define the communication literacy the teachers need and to suggest forms of collaboration between working life and HEIs. The learning materials produced are published on Canvas and are freely available for self-study purposes or for teachers to use and adapt in their teaching. The results have been published in several articles.

The consortium consisted of organisations from 5 European countries: Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS, Finland), Universitat Politécnica de Valencia (UPV, Spain), Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU, UK), Gdansk University of Technology (GUT, Poland) and the International Language Association ICC based in Germany. TUAS was the coordinating organisation, UPV was the lead partner in the Output 1 (Review and Research), MMU was responsible for the Output 2 (Module development), GUT for Output 3 (Teacher’s handbook) and practical arrangements for the piloting. ICC was responsible for the internal quality assurance of the project and coordinating the dissemination activities

The project started with a review and research to obtain information about the real needs detected in virtual communication in the workplace. The analysis of the survey results provided the necessary feedback for the design of the prototype of intensive modules to improve the use of a foreign language in a virtual/mobile context in the workplace.
The definition of the level of communication literacy needed in virtual communication situations in a multicultural environment was published in an article, the materials are planned for learners at B2 or higher CERF level.The focus was also on exploring what kind of literacy training the enterprises and students need and on the skills the teachers need to be able to prepare the students for virtual/mobile communication in working life.
Based on the review of current practices in the partner countries, the new communication literacy was defined and the definition was published in an article by Pérez-Sabater & al. The consortium produced virtual training modules in English and Spanish for teaching virtual and mobile working life communication. The modules were piloted and a Teacher’s Handbook was published. The content and methods of the modules were decided based on the research overview, survey and piloting feedback and collaboration with working life experts. All materials produced during the project are Open source educational resources and freely available on the Canvas platform or the project website, the modules were planned in a way that they are suitable for self-study, for degree students in teacher-led studies and for staff training.

The project results have benefited the teachers and students by increasing their competence in digital literacy, networking and collaboration. The students benefited by practicing communication skills needed in a virtual multicultural working environment. Teachers enhanced their professional skills by updating their knowledge of the skills needed today. Output 1 provided a good background for this work and helped to ensure that the skills the course materials focus on are relevant.

The project benefit enterprises by providing training materials that are created for improving the skills needed in multicultural communication in virtual/mobile working life. We wanted to provide the materials also for those who want to improve their skills independently and decided to create materials suitable also for self-study. We realized that studying communication without having a group to communicate with is challenging and limits the kinds of tasks that you can use and, therefore, the course also offers alternative implementation ways in the sections called teacher-led activities. The themes provoked vivid discussion in the events organized thus contributing to raising awareness of the issue among the academic staff and people working in business.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 223747 Eur

Project Coordinator

TURUN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU OY & Country: FI

Project Partners

• POLITECHNIKA GDANSKA
• THE MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
• International Certificate Conference e.V.
• UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIA