The university as a whole is a multicultural environment, and the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy is no exception, with a particularly broad mix of cultural backgrounds among both staff and students. The composition of the domain’s master’s and PhD programmes is highly international, and many undergraduate programmes have a high proportion of students from foreign backgrounds. Both student and staff mobility are expected to increase, resulting in more international experiences, and the number of activities in the field of internationalisation at home is growing steadily.
As part of its internationalisation efforts, Medfarm annually offers its staff, PhD students and students workshops in cultural intelligence with Charlotta Öberg from PRISMA Cross-Cultural Consultants. She is an expert in cultural diversity and intercultural communication and an internationally sought-after lecturer on the subject, including a commission from the Australian government.
The workshop was first held in 2019 for Medfarm staff and master’s students as a pilot project and has also been offered on a trial basis to the undergraduate programmes. The initiative proved successful, and the education committees of the medical and pharmaceutical faculties and Medfarm’s research training have therefore decided on a joint project to fund the workshops over three years (2022–2024).
Since the pilot in 2019, more than 100 staff members and PhD students have attended the workshop, and the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Here are some quotes from the participants:
”A reminder of considering others when working together. That it is our responsibility to think beyond ourselves and our own view of normal.”
”Amazing talk! The online tools really help to make it dynamic and easy to participate.”
”I wish that some of my colleagues could attend this workshop. There are many of them that would benefit greatly from it.”
This autumn, the three-year project will start in earnest. The workshop will be conducted via Zoom and will include several interesting interactive sessions that highlight cultural differences and similarities and how cultural diversity can help boost a team’s performance.
The staff and PhD student workshop will be on 22 September, 10:00–12:00.