UDP Internacional

Friday May 8th, 2026

On Thursday, May 7, in the Faculty of Education auditorium, the General Directorate of International Relations held a seminar on COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) best practices as part of UDP’s International Month. The activity featured four presentations by faculty members who have implemented different international teaching modalities through the use of digital tools.

For Anoek van den Berg, Director General of International Relations, this activity is based on one of the University’s pillars of internationalization: Global Formation. “It is precisely about reaching all students (…) whether they go abroad or not and, in this case, how we integrate internationalization into the curriculum as a strategic, transversal, and essential axis for the development of certain skills, attitudes, and knowledge related to this perspective of global awareness and participation,” she explained.

Currently, the COIL methodology is present in nine of the University’s faculties. The goal for 2030 is for all students to have at least one COIL experience during their academic training. For his part, Carlos Ahumada, Coordinator of Global Formation and Cooperation, highlighted the importance of these projects for advancing curricular internationalization. “The idea is that all of our students can access an international experience while at home. Normally, in Latin America, students who have the possibility of participating in a physical exchange represent about 1%. In our University, we have already reached 1.6% and are approaching 2%,” he noted.

The day continued with a presentation by Felipe Kong, an academic from the Faculty of Education, who explained the work developed between 2023 and 2026. His first COIL project was carried out in 2023 together with the University of Girona in Spain. Regarding that experience, he commented: “It was very interesting when the professor or the subject could participate, have experience with peers from Spain, listen to the professor who taught the workshop classes, and work on the themes.”

Likewise, Camila Wirsching, a teacher at the School of Architecture, recounted her first approach to COIL projects. “I arrived at the university very motivated and eager to explore new ways to innovate in teaching. I found COIL interesting and wanted to explore if it was viable to incorporate it into a course I teach called Practicing Urbanism,” she commented. The project was conducted in conjunction with the School of Architecture of the University of the Republic (Uruguay).

For his part, Alejandro Rossi, from the Department of General Education, Archives, and Culture, presented the course “DHO Global Studies: Marginalized Minorities from a Global Perspective,” developed together with Leiden University (Netherlands). The COIL module linked the course “Indigeneities in Latin America,” taught by academics Soledad Valdivia, Adriana Churampi Ramírez, and Martine Bruil, and focused on the analysis of contemporary issues related to tensions between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Latin America.

Finally, María Ángela Cifuentes, also from the Department of General Education, Archives, and Culture, presented the project carried out with the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE), together with Professor Daniela Mora. The experience consisted of a COIL module for undergraduate students of the CFG regarding recent historical events through photography and memory, promoting consultation, analysis, and reflection activities on significant events in the students’ immediate environment. Additionally, it was reported that the call for the Internationalization of Learning Processes Fund (FIPA), aimed at the design and implementation of COIL courses, will remain open until May 24.