Diversity key to global education
GLOBAL education is an approach to education that helps students understand the diversity of global society and the broad-based issues and challenges that are relevant to us.
By equipping students with such a mindset, they are better prepared for a workforce that demands a global world view and an integrated perspective on the way business is carried out and policies are made.
However, the breadth of the concept and the flexibility in the implementation of global education as a good pedagogy means it is often misunderstood.
This concept came under attack in the United States when it was introduced in the 1980s for being “un-American” and encouraging separatism and disunity. However, global education does not mean discounting nationalism and local contexts.
“It encourages exactly the opposite. Thinking global isn’t about devaluing national identities. The worry about the world becoming a single place with a single common identity is unfounded. I don’t see that happening,” says Prof Christine Ennew, chief executive officer and provost of The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).
For her, global education is about understanding and being sensitive to national identity, the celebration of different heritages and traditions, and learning and understanding other cultures.
Speaking from experience, Prof Ennew, who has previously served in various positions in the university’s UK campus, says, “In Malaysia, we can celebrate Hari Raya (Aidilfitri) in July, and then in November and December we are celebrating Deepavali and Christmas. After that, it’s Chinese New Year.
“These are all different festivals and each is an opportunity for us to share and learn something from each other. So it’s not about separatism but rather embracing diversity together.”
As an academic institution, it is natural to learn from and share our knowledge with others. We bring the best people from around the world to work together. Universities are doing more than ever to connect with each other. – Prof Christine Ennew
An integrated approach
Higher education is very much a national matter because it is governed by national policies and national systems. However, it cannot be denied that the future of higher education is in going global as the marketplace opens up and the borders between countries are blurred. Students in Malaysia are in direct competition with students from around the world for the same jobs.
Global education does not take away the roles and responsibilities of the national governing bodies but encourages academic institutions to study what is happening between nations and link these nations together.
The Chinese government invited The University of Nottingham to open a foreign branch campus in China for this reason – because they were keen to learn more about how a British university is run.
An institution that values global education is one that recognises, appreciates and celebrates the world’s diversity in terms of perspective, culture, traditions and ecology.
“The way in which other cultures do things can make us think and reflect on the way we do them ourselves, which is immensely valuable. Global education is also about awareness of issues that affect people around the world. It is about understanding and being aware of differences in cultures and appreciating the value of the diversity that we have,” says Prof Ennew.
To illustrate this, she explains that in the lecture halls, engineering students will look into green technology to address climate change issues, while students in business will look at improving corporate social responsibility practices. In politics and international relations, students will consider issues of human security and human rights around the world.
However, it is not enough to just say that global education is part of the curriculum. It has to permeate more broadly within the community. Global education is not a subject that is taught as a stand-alone course nor does it have a specific syllabus. It is instead integrated into academic teachings as well as extracurricular activities.
The pressing issues that need the attention of researchers and the youth are global concerns such as climate change, food security, energy, human and international security, and issues of equity, fairness and justice.
“Unsurprisingly, so many of these things are interlinked. For example, if you think about climate change, you think about fossil fuel used for energy and you think about the challenges of growing agricultural crops to feed the planet,” says Prof Ennew.
“Matters related to security, equity and justice fall under the human rights banner. Around both groups of issues is the underlying agenda of health and well-being.”
These are some of the most pressing global changes and university research plays a key role in trying to generate solutions. The key point, according to Prof Ennew, is that these global issues are massive and no country or university can tackle the issue of green technology, for instance, on its own. Each contributing country and institution has different expertise and facilities to offer.
“Locations with high levels of biodiversity have the resource base to explore biofuel production, while other countries with different climatic conditions may focus on researching other energy saving or generating technologies,” says Prof Ennew.
“As an academic institution, it is natural to learn from and share our knowledge with others. We bring the best people from around the world to work together. Universities are doing more than ever to connect with each other.”
A changing world
UNMC encourages and supports this mindset outside of the curriculum with the Nottingham Advantage Award, which is an employability-focused additional qualification that it offers to students.
This is where students have the opportunity to do much more in tackling global education agendas. Students can focus on specific issues, volunteer in communities locally or internationally and reflect on what they have done and learnt in the process of getting the credit for the advantage award.
In UNMC, there are numerous multidisciplinary collaborations among students. One distinctive effort involves physiotherapy students from the UK campus, who are working with the education students from the Malaysia campus in a disabled childcare centre in Bukit Harapan in Sabah. The physiotherapy students address the children’s physical needs while the education students help with their educational needs.
“This experience will make our students realise and understand how privileged they are while also participating actively to make a difference, and to do so locally and internationally,” says Prof Ennew.
UNMC has a diverse international community on campus with students of more than 70 nationalities, staff from more than 30 countries and a large network of societies and clubs. Many of these societies and clubs are cultural and faith-based societies.
While these societies promote and share their cultures and practices, they also collaborate for certain events to bring people together and create mutual understanding and respect.
“The students put in a lot of effort to raise awareness about their culture, which is a fantastic opportunity to learn. Here, you would have the chance to go to a 1930s Shanghai Night organised by the Chinese Cultural Society on one evening, and on another you could be attending the Korean Night or the Discover Islam event,” says Prof Ennew.
She adds, “We recently held the UNMC Earth Hour run by the Nature Society, which was supported by the staff from the Environment Committee. They did a fantastic job of creating the awareness of climate change and the impact of human activity on our environment.”
It is the combination of all of these activities that contributes to the delivery of a global education in UNMC. As a result, it is no surprise that its students are some of the top choices for employers who value graduates groomed to be global citizens who understand the issues and challenges that conform societies around the world.
For more information, visit www.nottingham.edu.my