“L’attivazione di competenze interculturali all’interno di programmi Double Degree” - Fabio Corno*, Richa Lal*, Silvia Hassouna*, University of Milano Bicocca, Italy presented at Quarta Giornata Interculturale Bicocca 26 Maggio 2016.

BUILDING BRIDGES/FRA LE DUE SPONDE L’educazione interculturale all’epoca dei nuovi fondamentalismi. Prof. Fabio Corno: fabio.corno@unimib.it – Università degli studi Milano-Bicocca Dott.ssa Richa Lal: richa.lal@unimib.it, – Università degli studi Milano-Bicocca Dott.ssa Silvia Hassouna silvia.hassouna@gmail.com – Università degli studi Milano-Bicocca Enabling Inter-cultural competences within Double Degree programs Abstract (English) Today’s globalised world badly needs strengthening of intercultural understanding. Within this perspective, intercultural competences (IC) are central in increasing understanding and improving relations across cultures. This represents a big challenge for institutions of Higher Education (HE), which are called to prepare students to live and work in the global arena. Indeed, over the past decades – faced by an increasing number of international students - they have undergone a process of internationalization, which has often brought them to increase their degrees offer with “study abroad” and “joined and double degree programs” (Bennett 1993a, b; Hammer 1999b). Little knowledge exists about which measures can foster intercultural competences. Literature suggests that studying abroad– alone –is not sufficient, as it should be supported and organized. We have focused our attention on double degree programs, with particular reference to two issues: 1) how do students enrolled in double-degree programs develop IC? 2) how should double degree programs be structured in order to facilitate the development of IC development? This paper takes an empirical approach, as we focus on the assessment of students enrolled in MAIB – Master in International Business Development –using the Bennett’s Developmental Model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS) (Bennett 1986, 1993). MAIB is a joint double credential Master’s program designed by University of Milano-Bicocca in partnership with Alliance University, India and Centennial College, Canada, where students study and live across 3 different campuses in 3 global dynamic cities in the world – Milan, Bangalore, and Toronto – over a 14 months period. We use MAIB as a case in point to demonstrate the application of a holistic approach towards building intercultural sensitivity among the students. Building on our previous research – presented at the AIIC conference 2015 in Azores (Portugal) – this paper aims to assess the development of the students along the intercultural sensitivity continuum of the DMIS at different stages of the educational path. The qualitative data have been collected through semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions and group discussions. We have expanded the scope of the study: updating and integrating qualitative data after the 1st cohort students has completed the Master’s program; analysing how the 1st cohort students have applied the competences achieved throughout the program across different sectors and cultural contexts; including the experiences of our 2nd MAIB cohort students (academic year 2015-2016) who are currently completing the India-term. Keywords: intercultural competence; internationalization; master dual degree program; Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Abstract (Italian) Il nostro mondo globalizzato richiede il rafforzamento di una capacità di comprensione interculturale. In questa prospettiva, le competenze interculturali (CI) svolgono un ruolo cruciale nell’aumentare e nel migliorare le relazioni tra culture differenti(Bennett 1993a, b; Hammer 1999b. Questo tema rappresenta una sfida rilevante per le università, che sono chiamate a preparare i loro studenti a vivere e a lavorare nell’arena globale. Soprattutto negli ultimi decenni, di fronte a un aumento rilevante degli studenti internazionali, le università hanno ampliato la loro offerta formativa ad includere programmi di studio all'estero e “joined and double degree”. Esistono al momento attuale conoscenze limitate in merito a quali misure possano stimolare le CI. La letteratura suggerisce che lo studiare all’estero – di per sé – non è sufficiente, in quanto deve essere supportato e organizzato. Noi abbiamo focalizzato la nostra attenzione sui programmi “double degree” (PDD), con particolare riferimento a due temi: 1) come si sviluppano le CI negli studenti che frequentano i PDD? 2) come dovrebbero essere strutturati i PDD per facilitare lo sviluppo delle CI? Il paper ha un taglio empirico, focalizzato sull’assessment degli studenti del MAIB - Master in Business Development International – utilizzando il modello di sviluppo della sensibilità interculturale (DMIS) introdotto da Bennett (Bennett 1986, 1993). Il MAIB è un PDD, sviliuppato dall’Università di Milano-Bicocca in collaborazione con Alliance University in India e Centennial College in Canada. Permette agli studenti di vivere e studiare in 3 città dinamiche e internazionali - Milano, Bangalore, e Toronto - per un periodo di 14 mesi. Lo utilizziamo per dimostrare l’applicazione di un approccio olistico alla costruzione di una sensibilità interculturale tra gli studenti. Sulla base dei dati raccolti in una precedente ricerca – presentata alla conferenza AIIC 2015 nelle Azzorre (Portogallo) il paper mira a valutare lo sviluppo degli studenti lungo il continuum di sensibilità interculturale del modello DMIS nelle diverse fasi del percorso formativo. I dati qualitativi sono stati raccolti grazie discussioni di gruppo e interviste semi-strutturate con domande a risposta aperta. Rispetto alla precedente ricerca, il campo è stato ampliato: i dati qualitativi sono stati aggiornati a integrare l’esperienza degli studenti del primo gruppo di iscritti dopo il completamento del master; abbiamo analizzato come questi studenti hanno applicato le competenze acquisite durante il programma in altri settori e contesti cultural; abbiamo incluso nello studio i dati riguardanti le esperienze degli studenti del secondo gruppo MAIB (anno accademico 2015-2016). Objectives and theoretical framework The study relies on Bennett’s Developmental Model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS). The DMIS proposes that individuals can be positioned along a continuum, characterized by different stages or orientations, ranging from ethnocentric perspectives towards more ethnorelative perspectives (Bennett 1986, 1993). The objective of the research is to assess the development of our students along this intercultural sensitivity continuum over time. The DMIS represents the most suitable theoretical framework to conceptualize and measure intercultural sensitivity and competence; an established research literature developed over time, illustrating its use (Paige, 2003). First, it is a theoretically based measure sought to assess the impact of the study abroad experience on the intercultural sensitivity of students. Second, it has undergone extensive psychometric testing and is a reliable and valid measure (Hammer, Bennett, and Wiseman, 2003). On the basis of its grounding in theory, its empirical reliability and validity, and the fit with our program goals, DMIS deemed a good choice for measuring intercultural sensitivity of our students living and studying in Milan (Italy, Europe), Bangalore (India, Asia), and Toronto (Canada, North America). Methodology and data collection The study employs qualitative methods of data collection. The qualitative approach has been applied in order to gain insight into the development of intercultural sensitivity among the students and focused on the two MAIB cohorts: academic years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. The data were collected through a series of semi-structured interviews conducted face to face or via Skype as well as group discussions. Two sets of questions were used: one for students of the current batch and the other for the MAIB graduates (alumni). The interview questions were developed on the basis of the theoretical framework of the research and the findings of the previous study. Results Our previous study presented at the AIIC conference 2015 in Azores (Portugal) focused on the intercultural learning across the India term and showed that MAIB Master program has positively affected student learning and development of students' intercultural competence. We are now in the process of finalizing our research and integrating the new data with the previous results. We shall be sharing the final findings at the end of the Master program after the students have experienced also the Canada term. The findings, based on the data analysis, will be shown in the detailed paper that we aim to present during this conference on May 26th. References Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., & Tan, M. L. (2011), Cultural Intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg & S. B. Kaufman (eds.) Cambridge Handbook on Intelligence, pp. 582–602. Boix Mansilla, V., Jackson, A. (2011), Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World. Council of Chief State School Officers’ EdSteps Initiative & Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning. viewed on 11 October 2014 < http://asiasociety.org/files/book-globalcompetence.pdf> Auschner E., Laumann M., Gröschke D. 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