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COIL C3{start} - Building Cross-Cultural Bridges in IT 

The C3{start} project at Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences aims to prepare computer science students for the global job market by fostering intercultural competence and digital collaboration. Launched in October 2024 as part of the BWS plus program funded by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung, C3{start} introduces international experiences early in the Software Engineering bachelor’s program.

Through virtual collaboration (COIL – Collaborative Online International Learning), students engage in a five-week course focused on intercultural communication, sustainability, and responsibility in IT.

Coil C3{Start} Professors
Logos mit Karte von C3 start

Sustainability and diversity as core values

The selection of partner universities reflects the diversity of the global IT landscape. From Asia to Africa to the Arab world, C3{start} enables students to experience a broad spectrum of cultural and professional perspectives. This network is to be continuously expanded in order to include other degree programmes offered by the Faculty of Computer Science and other partner universities in the exchange programme in the long term.

Course Development

The modules are developed in close cooperation with faculty and students from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Pharos University in Alexandria (PUA), and University of Kampala (UoK), under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Nicole Ondrusch and Claudia Sperrfechter from the Faculty of Computer Science at HHN.

The students work with fellow Computer Science students across borders, exchange ideas, and develop essential skills for the global workplace. Through this COIL (= Collaborative Online International Learning) programme, students not only practise their English/German/Arabic but also gain hands-on experience of working in international teams and consider the role of sustainability and responsibility in IT - key skills for any aspiring professional in today's interconnected world.

Throughout the course, they will explore:

  • A new language – gain insights into Arabic or German through basic language exchange
  • Computer Science across borders – discover what it’s like to study CS in Egypt and Germany
  • International teamwork – understand key cultural differences using Hofstede’s dimensions
  • Cross-cultural app design – learn what it takes to create user-friendly apps for diverse audiences
Coil C3 Weekly Courses Image

Implementation

This course involves all first-year students in the Software Engineering programme. Through this innovative approach, students learn about cultural diversity and different perspectives on IT topics. They leave their comfort zone without having to physically leave the UK and develop skills early on that are essential for their professional future.

C3{start} not only offers virtual collaboration, but also creates incentives for physical mobility. Following the COIL course, scholarships will be offered until 2027 for a five-month stay abroad at partner universities in Malaysia, Egypt and Uganda for students from Germany as well as for students from partner universities at HHN. The experiences of the exchange students will feed back into the further development of the virtual course, creating a dynamic and sustainable learning culture

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