On Teaching Intercultural Competencies Using Ethnography and Cultural Dimension Theory
In the professional world there is an increasing need not only for excellent technical skills but also for soft skills. This becomes quite obvious when looking into current job descriptions for engineers. Being able to work collaboratively with people from other disciplines is besides others one example of highly demanded soft skills from job descriptions. Most undergraduate engineering programs aim to prepare prospective engineers for an interdisciplinary work environment. Universities offer a wide range of different academic disciplines. Students, normally, move around in the terrain of their own discipline only, and no insights into the world of other disciplines are acquired. We present in this paper our experiences of using ethnography and cultural dimension theory to teach intercultural competencies, collaborative learning and interdisciplinary team work. Cross disciplinary student groups do ethnographic field research projects in a foreign discipline. How to dress, how and what to talk about, which heroes you have, what values you represent, how male and female members interact, what rituals are practiced etc. are all elements that make up a special culture. The students have to interpret the meanings of the observed and experienced. They have to reflect the mission statements, self conceptions, tasks, positions and demarcations of the foreign discipline, thus overcoming the limitations of their own subject specific way of thinking.
2019 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON)