Covid-19 border closures have ushered in new approaches to?student mobility that practitioners believe will never be?wound back, even after borders reopen for?good.

A ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ forum heard that opportunities for international experience have flourished in?places where traditional exchanges are?rare, with scarce resources or cultural impediments discouraging many students from travelling.

Vidya Yeravdekar, pro-chancellor of Symbiosis International University in western India, said as few as 1?per cent of the 45,000-odd students at her institution had the means to undertake travel abroad. But the virtual exchanges organised during the pandemic had touched the ¡°98?or 99?per cent of students who will never experience internationalisation in its true sense¡±.

¡°We could connect students who would have otherwise not been able to [with] wonderful students [and] teachers from across the world,¡± Dr Yeravdekar told THE?Campus Live Asia, also conducted virtually. ¡°I¡¯m sure a?day will come when these students will visit each other¡¯s countries. They¡¯ll be friends, buddies, and these will grow into lifelong relationships.¡±

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Rio Luhung, international partnerships coordinator at Indonesia¡¯s Sultan Agung Islamic University, said virtual exchanges conceived as the only viable option during the pandemic had proven a blessing in disguise. ¡°The number of students involved in our international programmes [has been] way higher than¡­normal,¡± he told the forum.

Mr Luhung said students had embraced the experience, connecting with their overseas peers through social media after classes and gaining a ¡°taste¡± for foreign travel in a culture where ¡°going abroad is not a big thing¡±.

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Guangcui Zhang, director of the office of global engagement at Jilin University in northern China, said providing individual internationalisation experiences had long been a challenge in her institution of 73,000 students. But an ¡°encouraging¡± 10,000 students had participated in online exchanges over the past two years.

She said a survey conducted during the pandemic¡¯s early stages had revealed a ¡°decline of interest in going abroad physically¡±, but no decrease in appetite for international collaborations. Her office had helped academics ¡°tailor-make¡± virtual exchanges involving lessons, workshops, seminars, tutorials and international competitions, with Jilin students claiming gold medals in life sciences and automotive tournaments.

Dr Zhang said physical mobility was not the ¡°assessment standard¡± for such activities. ¡°It¡¯s whether we meet the expectations and the needs of the students.¡±

Joyce Teo, vice-president of global affairs at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, said her institution had embraced the ¡°rising trend¡± of virtual exchanges as a means of arming students with intercultural competencies.

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Dr Teo said that while the full resumption of international travel was keenly anticipated, she expected a ¡°hybrid¡± mode of mobility to prevail in the future. Student feedback was that virtual exchanges were ¡°easier¡± and more fulfilling in some ways. ¡°You¡¯re meeting more professors. You¡¯re meeting friends that otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be able?to.¡±

Dr Yeravdekar said the pandemic had also helped many academics overcome their ¡°reluctance and anxiety¡± about collaborating internationally. ¡°Now [they] don¡¯t mind talking to a person from Germany or Norway or even eastern India, because [they¡¯ve] developed a network [and] comfort with talking to someone from another country. We can converse with each other. We can brainstorm. We can develop joint research projects. I?think that¡¯s the biggest takeaway.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com