Groningen, Netherlands

Intercultural Competence winter school

Do you want to help others develop their intercultural competence?

world map
“How can we develop in ourselves and others the necessary mastery and concomitant humility required to be effective across cultures?” In our rapidly globalizing world, with increasing demands on our ability to collaborate with others from diverse backgrounds, the competence to bridge cultural differences is necessary for any sustainable, pluralistic society.

If you have the responsibility to develop this intercultural competence in others, the Winter School on Intercultural Competence is for you. The programme is intended for professionals in the fields of intercultural competence development and internationalisation. It offers a comprehensive overview of intercultural training design with an emphasis on using developmental approaches to enhance cultural learning. It addresses questions such as: “How do I structure effective training?” “What kinds of participants can I encounter and how do I tailor my training to their needs?” “How do I deal with various kinds of resistance in a group?”

“This training provided me with tools & concepts that I can use in my work to address intercultural competence to support staff and students to become more culturally sensitive.”
“I have learned that it is important to know where I am (what my own intercultural competence is) and what is possible to change or not before reaching out and teaching others.”
Following the success of previous years' Winter Schools, the Centre for Language and Culture is pleased to once again welcome Dr. Nagesh Rao, senior faculty member at the Intercultural Communication Institute and Chair of the Department of Social Medicine at Ohio University. He brings special insights to the University of Groningen on how the intercultural dimension influences our perspectives on social medicine.

“Nagesh is a strong story-teller and I loved the stories from his personal experience he shared with us. They were powerful in visualizing abstract concepts. He also showed humility and created a very safe leaning environment.”
“He was very enthusiastic and open-minded. Curious to hear our stories and the expertise of each of the group members.”
There is a saying that “curiosity killed the cat.” But conceivably, in intercultural relations, a lack of curiosity is more of a problem.

So, if you are curious and wish to develop your ability to foster intercultural sensitivity in others, apply to the Winter School on Intercultural Competence! With an emphasis on using developmental approaches to decrease learner resistance, the offered programme will cover everything from communication and thinking styles to intercultural training methods and resources.

…Unleash the creative and innovative potential of cultural diversity!

Course leader

Drs. M.S. Carrière, University of Groningen Language Centre

Target group

Practitioners, those who are involved with intercultural competence in a professional capacity. Most are teachers or trainers, some are in a more strategic position.

Course aim

The Winter School will cover the following components:

Intercultural training competences
Cultural stereotypes and cultural generalizations
A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity
Characteristics of cultural marginality
Training content challenges
Thinking and communication styles
Low and high context communication
Intercultural training methods and resources

Fee info

EUR 1750: Participation fee