Planning Intercultural Group Work in Engineering Education: Multilevel perspectives

Other conference contribution, 2025

Engineering education is one of the most internationalised disciplines in numbers of international students (OECD, 2024). A core requirement for engineering education is working in a national and international context at both individual and team levels (ENAEE, 2022). Teachers can be vital in creating conditions for intercultural learning, enhancing belonging, and reducing cultural misunderstandings (Ambagts-van Rooijen et al., 2024).  However, there is limited support and research into their experiences (Beelen, 2017; Gregersen-Hermans et al., 2021)

Intercultural group work (IGW) where groups of students from different cultural backgrounds collaborate on classroom tasks, is one way to achieve international learning outcomes (Poort et al., 2019). IGW promotes cognitive, affective, and behavioral development, preparing engineering students for global workplaces (Jiang et al., 2023). However, IGW presents pedagogical challenges, including linguistic differences and team-building issues, requiring nuanced facilitation skills from teachers to prevent potentially reinforcing stereotypes (Liang & Schartner, 2022; Stahl & Maznevski, 2021).

This mixed method study examined IGW across micro, meso,  and exo levels by analysing interviews with teachers and program managers at two European universities, supplemented with survey data from students. Results indicate consistently positive student responses despite varying teacher approaches to group formation and implementation. One area of concern was team socialization, leading to discussions on the extent of teacher micromanagement needed. The findings highlight the need for contextualized approaches with program-level perspectives to achieve international goals.