AUC partnered with the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (GLAA), a consortium of liberal arts universities, to offer our students an interactive cultural exchange experience through globally connected courses. Enrolled students will virtually engage in international, multicultural discussions on critical issues of our world alongside students in other classrooms around the world.
Through a selection process, faculty from AUC traveled to the American University in Bulgaria in the summer of 2024 to meet with global faculty partners in other GLAA universities and plan the activities of their joint courses. Connected courses on all campuses were held face to face, with virtual interactions on shared coursework with global student partners, to span five to seven weeks of the course.
“This initiative supports our central goal of advancing the liberal arts learning outcomes through high-impact learning experiences that place our students at the center of academic discussions, bringing together students with multiple cultures and perspectives to grapple with complex issues that concern our societies today,” said Ghada Elshimi, dean of AUC’s Academy of Liberal Arts.
She added, “Students in these courses develop the skills to collaborate with [other] students from different backgrounds and reflect on their own values, identities and biases, as well as those of others. Transferable skills of global learning, deep listening, critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork are among the important outcomes that students gain.”
“Students in these courses develop the skills to collaborate with [other] students from different backgrounds and reflect on their own values, identities and biases, as well as those of others."
Let’s take a look back at the courses that were offered this fall and hear from their faculty and students.
Courses Offered in Fall 2024
Taught by:
Lobna Mourad
AUC’s Department of Biology
Connected with:
Jennifer Johnson, Kenyon College
Gaybe Moore, Oberlin College
This course connected with students at Kenyon and Oberlin colleges in Ohio. Students developed nutrition literacy, looking into global, food-related epidemic threats and the consumption of processed food from perspectives of different cultures and backgrounds. They discussed issues such as food politics, malnutrition and food waste.
"Never be afraid to have too many cooks in the kitchen.’”
Johnson appreciated the exchange of ideas and disciplinary perspectives on food with the other professors. “Meeting with my colleagues regularly to discuss our courses and students’ progress has been a highlight of my [work] this semester. Students tell me that they, too, value the relationships they’ve developed with peers from different universities. Some hope to keep these relationships going even after the course is over.”
Though adapting to different time zones and working styles can be a challenge, Johnson says that it was absolutely worth the effort for herself and her students. “In spite of the anxiety and frustration she felt at times, one student described how much fun she’s had and how proud she is of her group’s final project. Her advice to others? ‘Never be afraid to have too many cooks in the kitchen.’”
"Students tell me that they, too, value the relationships they’ve developed with peers from different universities. Some hope to keep these relationships going even after the course is over.”
While bridging three courses across different time zones was admittedly difficult, Moore said that “students were able to learn effective communication skills and integrate their classroom learning into real-world conversations about food, nutrition and public health.”
The results of global collaboration in the students’ learning were “made evident in their final project, a series of Public Service Announcements that could be distributed either in the United States or Egypt to address health disparities and provide education on topics related to our courses.”
AUC freshman Zeina Swiedan appreciated the diverse interactions. “I have been exposed to new cultures and ideas, and learned the importance of respecting other cultures that might not be in line with mine," she said, describing the experience as a fun challenge that she would repeat without hesitation if given the chance.
AUC course instructor Lobna Mourad shared similar sentiments: "This collaborative experience has been incredibly enriching for both myself and my students. I am confident that we all gained valuable knowledge and skills. Moreover, I am grateful for the opportunity to build lasting friendships with my AUC peers and professors from the United States. I look forward to participating in future global course connections. "
This year, the Core Curriculum features an exciting international dimension that brings the world to our classrooms and our students to the world.
AUC Professor:
Yasmine Salah El-Din
AUC’s Department of English Language Instruction
Connected with:
Dawn Chisebe, Ohio Wesleyan University
In this five-week collaboration, students analyzed the concepts of leadership, (in)equalities and human rights through an intersectional framework of race, gender and class. They developed a campaign raising people’s awareness of a social movement in countries other than Egypt and the United States.
"The students demonstrated remarkable adaptability, learning from each other and finding innovative ways to work collectively.”
“Leadership in the Era of Black Lives Matter, the course I teach at Ohio Wesleyan University, is an upper-level, writing-intensive class,” said Chisebe. “This partnership has really encouraged our students to engage with one another’s perspectives and collaborate on group projects despite challenges like differing time zones. The students demonstrated remarkable adaptability, learning from each other and finding innovative ways to work collectively.”
For construction engineering freshman Emmy Nasr, the course was an eye-opener. “The program was a great opportunity to work with foreign students, and it helped me discover what teamwork is like between people with different backgrounds. I enjoyed how it allowed me to see [the way] others view Egypt and gave me the chance to clear some misconceptions about our culture.”
"I enjoyed how it allowed me to see [the way] others view Egypt and gave me the chance to clear some misconceptions about our culture.”
Her classmate, freshman Hana El Sherbiny, saw the course as "a path that linked diverse minds, cultures and ideas, fostering collaboration and mutual learning. The English liberal arts course opened my mind to diverse perspectives, enabling me to tackle different critical issues and stigmas through the 17 Sustainable Development Goals we addressed.”
Taught by:
Nellie El Enany
AUC’s Heikal Department of Management
Connected with:
Emmanuel Skoulas, The American College of Greece
Students and their peers examined the role of international NGOs, the issues they are tackling and the challenges they face. The connection provided an opportunity for students to explore the way NGOs operate as well as their functions and efforts to communicate important issues to the public sphere, thus legitimizing their cause.
“The experience with AUC has been a great one, and students were very enthusiastic about the connection and interaction with students [in Egypt]."
“The global course connections initiative reinforces its commitment to liberal arts education, bringing together faculty from across the world to forge new ideas, inspire one another to develop innovative [initiatives] and foster internationalization in teaching and learning,” said El Enany.
Her Greek counterpart Skoulas said, “The experience with AUC has been a great one, and students were very enthusiastic about the connection and interaction with students [in Egypt]. The teams of students from ACG and AUC have been working together toward a common assignment of finding an international NGO and identifying its mission, vision, key values and matching them with the sustainability goals set by the United Nations.”
AUC student Khadija Baheieldin noted, “Although we faced challenges in communication with the students in Greece at the start, we had developed a deeper understanding of each other and each other’s cultures by the end of the course.”
Taught by:
Ayah Amin
AUC’s Department of Rhetoric and Composition
Connected with:
María Ordoñez Alvarez, Universidad San Francisco de Quito
This course focused on the overlap between scientific language study and sociolinguistics. The goal was to orient students with inequalities related to language in local and global contexts. Students were exposed to a linguistically diverse classroom with classmates from Ecuador who speak an indigenous language, complementing many of the sociolinguistics topics that were covered in the class.
“Our GCC class experiment with the Ecuadorian students was all about connecting and sharing stories, ideas and cultures in a way that felt authentic and meaningful. It wasn’t just learning but an eye-opener to a whole different world.”
“The workshop in Bulgaria was the epitome of embracing diversity and intercultural dialogue,” said Amin.
Her counterpart Ordoñez said, “The experience has been very rewarding. Students in Ecuador had the unique opportunity to connect with Egyptian students, talk through their different lives and methods of approach to their studies and collaborate together on class-oriented activities.”
AUC economics junior Sandy Moaaz Mohamed commended the experience as a whole. “Our GCC class experiment with the Ecuadorian students was all about connecting and sharing stories, ideas and cultures in a way that felt authentic and meaningful. It wasn’t just learning but an eye-opener to a whole different world.”
