1. Learning in a new culture and in an intercultural environment Lars Peter Jensen and Xiangyun Du Department of Control Engineering Department of Education, Learning and Philosophy

2. 2 Overview 9:30 – 9:40 Workshop introduction 9:30 – 9:40 Workshop introduction 9:40 – 10:30 Reflection on culture and intercultural communication 9:40 – 10:30 Reflection on culture and intercultural communication 10.30 – 13.00 Project work on a case study, incl. lunch break 10.30 – 13.00 Project work on a case study, incl. lunch break 13:00 – 14:00 Guest lecture by Torben Brændgaard, Grundfoss 13:00 – 14:00 Guest lecture by Torben Brændgaard, Grundfoss 14.00 – 15.00 Project work cont. 14.00 – 15.00 Project work cont. 15:00 – 16.00 Project presentation 15:00 – 16.00 Project presentation

3. 3 What are the things confronting when entering a new country?

4. 4 Things that have been taken for granted in one culture might be unknown in another Parents

5. Meeting cultures – Cultural shock Please write 3 words For foreign students: What were your most impressive observations on arrival of AAU/DK? For Danish students: What were your most impressive observations on arrival of another country?

6. 6 East vs. West - Cultural Differences comparison of Western and Asian culture in the eyes of a Chinese raised in Germany. http://www.socialhallucinations.com/2008/11/east-vs-west---cultural-differences-in-pictures.html

7. 7 ME

8. 8 WAYS OF LIFE

9. 9 PARTY

10. 10 TRENDS

11. 11 STREET AT WEEKEND

12. 12 SHOWER TIME

13. 13 QUEUING

14. 14

15. 15 Symbolism Manners and body language – eye contact, distance, etc. Intercultural communication - non-verbal language Rasmussen & Bank-Mikkelsen 2000: 8)

16. 16 Solution (Herlitz 1989:60) ‘The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.’ (Peter F. Drucker American Educator, b.1909) Intercultural communication - cultural understanding

17. 17 Intercultural communication - cultural understanding How would you read this ad of pills? (Herlitz 1989:38)

18. 18 Please work in pairs, talking to different people using the script which follows… The script: A: ‘Hello’. B: ‘Hello’. A: ‘You are late’. B: ‘I know’. Try to do it completely differently each time. Intercultural communication - Power of language

19. 19 Intercultural communication in teaching and learning Why is culture an issue? Development of intercultural competencies for future engineers Establishment of international program

20. 20 Globalized context Diverse capabilities Lifelong learning Project management Social, environmental, and ethical concerns Effective communication Designing and conducting experiments - National Academy of Engineering, The Engineer of 2020, 2004 - EUR-ACE (Accreditation of European Engineering Programmes and Graduates, http://www.feani.org/EUR_ACE/EUR_ACE_Main_Page.htm http://www.feani.org/EUR_ACE/EUR_ACE_Main_Page.htm - ABET: http://www.abet.org/http://www.abet.org/ Identity and solve applied science problems Team work Application of mathematics and science knowledge Analytical skills Interdisciplinary knowledge Intercultural competencies Developing intercultural competencies for future engineers

21. 21 Intercultural environment in PBL

22. 22 Challenges and identified problems 1 Miscommunication arises due to –Use of second language (English) as a means of communication –Learning and working styles –Personality

23. 23 Challenges and identified problems 2 Different beliefs on/ways of learning – different expectations Opinions? Educational background

24. 24 Challenges and identified problems 2 Different beliefs on/ ways of learning  Nobody knows the exact answers until the project is finished  Students are responsible for managing their own learning  Learners are creating new knowledge Studying in a PBL environment, Denmark

25. 25 Challenges and identified problems 3 Can group work be an efficient way of learning? YES, we can meet at 8 tomorrow morning NO, I can’t get up anyway Will they believe me because I am a girl?? Listen to me, I am very experienced If we don’t follow the supervisor’s suggestion, will he allow us to pass? They don’t understand even such easy things!! It is my turn to talk? He complains of my garlic, but he has coffee and carrots all the time!!!

26. 26 Doing project in groups Group meeting Brainstorm Subgroup work Discussion Disagreement Presentation Compromise Exam Report writing Life

27. 27 ` I have never worked in a group in my educational life… In group work, I preferred to listen when some students discussed intensely, because I could not understand why it was a question to discuss. Sometimes I could not follow their ideas or thinking. I need to change and actively work in the group.´ (Chinese female master student) Student’s reflection

28. 28 Is ethnicity the only reason that makes us different? Muslim Philosopher Animal doctor Young girl butcher artist wolf farmer

29. 29 Engineering culture – engineer study

30. 30 Engineering culture – engineer study

31. 31 Is culture something we are born with? (Jensen 2005:18) ’I got culture from mom’s breast breeding’

32. 32 (Jensen 2005:72) You are so big. You can not stay here! Come back when you become smaller! Learning from each other vs. cultural integration Self vs. others Acceptance vs. adaptation

33. 33 PBL in International programs, AAU, Denmark Different backgrounds in educational culture Cultural reflections Doing PBL in ‘the right’ way! A new culture to be established Root of PBL in DK - Tradition of group work in Denmark - Critical thinking - Emphasis on - Collaboration and participation - Lower power gap - Close link between industry and university

34. Mini project for today’s workshop A real life case: Confucius Institute for Innovation & Learning, AAU is playing a role of facilitating intercultural and international collaboration between DK-China. In collaboration with Investment Denmark, a state-run organization, to attract and facilitate Chinese industry to invest in north DK. BRANDEN, a biomed company in China showed interest and is exploring opportunities. These days the CEO, Mr Zhang, comes to Aalborg for a visit. Please work out a list of recommendations for BRANDEN to successfully develop a new international small-middle size company in North DK. Both Danish and foreign graduates from Aalborg University will be potential employees in the new company, together with Engineers from China, North DK and other countries. What are the cultural issues to prepare/consider for establishing a company in North DK What are the culture preparations for employing international staff (engineers, scientists and medicine people) and facilitate an efficient working environment? How to prepare for meetings, how to approach people, etc. What management style will you suggest to lead the new company? Which parts of the company profile should be emphasized in a job adverticement to attract graduates from Aalborg University? 34

35. Profile of Branden Branden is a professional medical device supplier, who also handles its own R&D, production and marketing services. The company was founded in 1996, registered in Zhongguancun, Haidian District in Beijing. Over a decade, the company experienced a rapid growth period. http://www.brandentech.com Technology: advanced technology in medical polymer material production, especially in silicone production and research field. focusing on medical plasma technology, engineers have enlarged our range of products with a plasma sterilizer and a plasma electrotome system. key techniques like drug coating, coating spreading techniques, as well as brand new highly effecient drugs. Intellectual property: Branden pays special attention to international cooperation with its partners and cares for the respect of intellectual property rights. We have succeeded in building cooperation relationships with universities and laboratories - in Germany, the Netherlands, and the US- concerning drug-eluting stents, biodegradable metals and polymer materials, and the medical plasma technology field. Due to our efforts, we have obtained over ten patens in China as well as PCT international patent in the key technologies of these fields.

36. Profile of Branden Marketing: Branden’s R&D team, marketing team and management employees have an extinguish feature of diversification. In fact they all have backgrounds or work experiences in medical, polymer material, biomedical engineering, and mechanical manufacturing. This feature allows our employees to understand the specific needs of our clients in terms of product R&D and design process. We provide our customers with reasonable solutions to meet their requests. Branden has its branches in the main cities of China mainland including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Jinan. Moreover, branden is proud of having won its acceptance of U.S major buyers such as Cardinal Health, Medline, Diamics as well as multinational companies in Europe and Japan, being permitted to be their official supplier. Internationalization: Branden has a global vision of business, by now it has branches in Germany, the USA, Brazil, and Malaysia. Its products have been exported to over 20 countries and regions including Europe, the USA, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, India, Taiwan etc... Its annual exporting growth rate reached 100% for the last three years.

37. Profile of Branden Corporate culture: Our goal is to become an excellent company recognized by the actors of the Medical field. Development: Branden keeps developing medical and health-care products of high technology; making efforts to open up now markets; providing ongoing staff training, career and personal development opportunities. Respecting human rights: Branden treats its employees equally, strives to build up a working environment which benefits employees’ communication. Branden believes one of the key criteria to become an excellent company is to make its staff feel relaxed and at ease on the workplace. Customer: Branden put its customers in the first place, providing them with services and products of the best quality. The success of the company lies on this whole philosophy.