From City to Neighborhood

​​​​Project Summary:

• This virtual exchange project connected students from DePaul University to students from Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. The project involved three different phases. The first phase required that they share one photo a day on Instagram showcasing what their daily lives look like. During the second phase, DePaul students applied advertising skills in neighborhood branding and developed a promotional ad to promote that neighborhood successfully across cultures, and developed a narrative to explain how they would brand a similar neighborhood in Amsterdam. Students used WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, and Google Docs to communicate with one another throughout the project. The students presented their ideas in class and submitted their promotional ads on D2L.  In the reflection stage, groups were asked to contemplate what they learned about the other country, the higher education system in a different culture, and how this project helped them develop stronger skills for their industry.
  

Project Length:

• 4 Weeks

Technology Tools Used:

• D2L (DePaul only)
• Whatsapp
• FaceTime, Skype, Zoom
• E-mail
• Google Docs
• Dropbox

Communication Type/ Interaction Mode:

• Synchronous
• Asynchronous

Learning Outcomes:

• Respect for and learning from the perspectives of others different from themselves.
• Knowledge of global interconnectedness and interdependencies.
• Knowledge to become a steward of global resources for a sustainable future.

Reflection Component:

• Final reflection paper, comparing students’ first impressions and cultural stereotypes (posed as initial reflection questions during week 1) with the experience of collaborating in an international team (some of the reflection topics included: communication, time orientation, leadership, decision making styles, giving and receiving feedback, and building trust).

Empathy Building Component:

• “A photo-a-day” activity (exchange of visuals, picture or video, followed up by a conversation about students’ daily lives and cultural contexts).

Juan Mundel

Institution: DePaul University
Discipline: Public Relations & Advertising
Course name: Advertising & Society

Eva Haug

Institution: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Discipline: Intercultural Communication
Course name: Intercultural Communication