The International Center is pleased to announce the Inaugural Virtual Exchange / COIL for Administrative UF Staff in Collaboration with CEU in Valencia, Spain!

UF and CEU participants will contribute their interests and professional experience in their fields, share best practices, and discuss creative ways to implement improvement projects at the end of the program.

This unique bilingual pilot program is set to start in February 15, and designed to culminate with project presentations in May, 2024.

A Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project, a type of virtual exchange or telecollaboration, is a technology-enhanced teaching methodology in which faculty members in any discipline facilitate sustained telecollaboration among groups of students in different countries to increase their intercultural competence.

With this professional development opportunity, we will adapt the COIL methodology to further the professional development of university administrative staff. Participants in CEU (Valencia) and UF (Gainesville) will engage in facilitated conversations over the course of a semester. During this time, they will compare and contrast their job responsibilities and experiences with their counterparts and develop an online collaborative project aimed at improving some aspect on the operations within their respective areas of responsibility on campus.

This Bilingual Pilot COIL for Staff Program aims to exchange best practices in services to students and other campus stakeholders in the following areas:

  • Mentoring/student success
  • Counseling
  • Support services for new students
  • Finance & business operations
  • Recruitment
  • Data analytics and Website development
  • International student support
  • Support for foreign language learning and practice
  • Human resources 
  • Marketing & Communications

Virtual Exchange/COIL programs deepens knowledge, broadens perspectives, fosters personal growth, and opens doors to new international friendships and professional opportunities for students, faculty, and staff alike.

For more information about COIL/virtual exchange at UF: 
https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/virtual-exchange 
https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/virtual-exchange-projects 

About the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera in Valencia (Spain): 
https://www.uchceu.com/en