A Passage to India, the story of a Languages and International Relations expedition
Sophie Henrard and Anne Pittomvils immersed themselves in the Indian university world, whose vibrant variety of colours and contrasts reflects local society. A collaborative project has gone from strength to strength and new perspectives for exchanges in English are materialising for IHECS staff members and students.
Dr. Radhika Khanna, Director of the Department of Electronic Media & Mass Communication, Anne Pittomvils, Coordinator of the Languages Department and Sophie Henrard, Coordinator of the International Department.
The trio took place as part of an Erasmus + International Dimension call for projects following a collaborative initiative between IHECS and the Manipal Institute of Communication (MIC, South India). The collaborative educational project is structured around the theme “Incorporating Perspectives from Brussels and India: A Knowledge Exchange Initiative on Health Communication Campaigns”. The objectives are defined in terms of raising awareness of barriers to health communication in culturally diverse environments and mobilising English language skills.
Sophie Henrard and Dr. Padma Rani (Director of MIC) met in December 2022 in India to define collaboration frameworks. Anne Pittomvils welcomed Professor Manjula Venkataraghava to IHECS in February 2022 and in turn made a presentation in Manipal: “Brussels, Unity in Diver-City. Approaches to Interculturalism in Brussels”. This interactive seminar, followed by around fifty Bachelor of Communication students and several teachers, sparked meaningful discussions concerning the definition of the project’s research focus.
Dr. Padma Rani, Director of MIC, Professor Dr. Manjula Venkataraghava, Anne Pittomvils and Sophie Henrard.
The project, submitted at the initiative of Sophie Henrard, seeks funding for a 36-month collaboration involving mobility of students and staff members in both directions. Inclusion and diversity are at the heart of the research project but also the selection criteria for mobility participants. This will include bolstering @home internationalisation activities (international activities within the school) through online courses that can be taken in Manipal and Brussels.
The visit also extended to prospecting a new partner in eastern South India, the University of Pondicherry. The on-site visit was essential, because online this partner appeared to fulfil all the expectations in terms of hosting our students for an exchange semester. It was only on site that certain realities speaking against this project could be observed (English level of certain teachers or students insufficient for courses to actually be given in the target language, teaching practices and subjects taught that are poorly suited to the training objectives of IHECS students). The working meetings with Dr. Radhika Khanna, Director of their "School of Media and Communication" and the Vice-Chancellor Professor K. Tharanikkarasu, however, led to the consideration of other forms of collaboration (joint participation in research projects, conferences, etc.).
India at the heart of shared perspectives… Opportunities for collaboration to be taken, new challenges that impart meaning, openness and commitment!
With the support of
