What is Internationalization Abroad

Within the ongoing process of globalization, intercultural competence has been identified as one of the key competences of the 21st century. Universities need to prepare their graduates for working across countries and cultures and have been focusing on the international and intercultural aspect of their programs. Research has shown, however, that the development of intercultural competence in students does not happen automatically but needs to be fostered and supported. Within an action research project, an intercultural group work was designed to foster the development of intercultural competence of business students in an international double-degree program. The analyses of individual self-reflections after the group work suggested that the group work provided students with international working experiences, and that the reflection process has to be structured and supported to foster the development of intercultural competence in students.