Collaborating with COIL Faculty Fellows and COIL Coordinators on Scholarship Advancement

Pioneered by the SUNY COIL Center, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is an educational methodology focused on fostering online intercultural learning experiences within universities in different countries. Since 2023, the COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa has been supporting the design and implementation of COILed projects between Michigan State University (MSU) and African universities, with the goals of making global learning accessible to students, promoting faculty's professional development, strengthening cross-institutional ties, advancing COIL-related scholarship, and more. So far, two cohorts of this innovative faculty fellowship program have been launched, resulting in 14 different COILed projects.

On behalf of this program, MSU's Global Youth Advancement Network (now part of MSU's Center for Global Learning and Innovation) is happy to report on some recent success stories and academic presentations involving our team, our COIL faculty fellows, and our COIL coordinators. We celebrate these achievements together and thank all involved parties for their efforts, collaborative mindset, and commitment to advancing global learning!

Presentations at MSU Spring TALKS 2025: May 7-8

MSU Spring TALKS 2025 is a conference organized by MSU’s Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI), focused on exploring and discussing teaching and learning innovations. During the conference, three COIL-related presentations took place:

1) An online faculty panel titled "MSU COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa: Insights, Challenges & Lessons Learned" featured COIL fellows Antoinette Tessmer (from MSU) and Nkadi Onyegegbu (from University of Nigeria Nsukka). The panel was moderated by Leticia Cherchiglia (from MSU's Center for Global Learning and Innovation) and touched upon important topics for COIL design/implementation such as how to create meaningful shared learning goals, which tools/technologies can be used to support students' engagement and intercultural collaborations, how to navigate uncertainties and/or anticipate challenges, etc.


2) An online educator talk titled "Breaking borders between Michigan and Malawi through virtual learning" featured COIL fellows Jennifer Marcy (from MSU) and Zione Kalumikiza-Chikumbu (from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi). This presentation focused on how their COILed project was able to increase students' cultural awareness, foster international ties, and stimulate interest in global exchange.

3) An in-person workshop titled "Faculty Perspectives from COIL Classrooms" featured three MSU COIL fellows: Antoinette Tessmer, Jennifer Marcy, and Trixie Smith. Additional presenters were Leticia Cherchiglia and Anjam Chaudhary (both from MSU's International Studies and Programs). During this interactive workshop, attendees were invited to roleplay activities from a COIL classroom and to discuss the supporting role of communities of inquiry in COIL design/development. Reflecting on the effectiveness of such a workshop, Tessmer said: "I think that it went very well. I already heard from one of the attendees who is interested in joining MSU's Faculty Learning Community!"

Presentations at NAFSA 2025 Annual Conference & Expo: May 27-30

Three presentations related to our COIL fellowship program were part of NAFSA 2025 Annual Conference & Expo, one of the largest events dedicated to international education and exchange:

1) The session titled "North/South Partnerships for Sustained Internationalization of the Curriculum through COIL" was presented by MSU COIL fellow Antoinette Tessmer, in addition to Leticia Cherchiglia and Opal Leeman Bartzis (both from MSU's Center for Global Learning and Innovation). This session also featured perspectives from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in the form of video presentations, respectively from UNN COIL fellow Nkadi Onyegegbu and UNN appointed COIL Coordinator Theresa Onyema Ofoegbu. Through this case study presentation, attendees were able to learn more about the COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa and how it promotes sustained partnerships given its intentional design to train faculty/administrators, foster equitable collaborations, and support participants through learning communities.


2) MSU COIL fellows Antoinette Tessmer and Aklilu Zeleke presented posters about their experience with their COILed projects through the COIL Faculty Fellowship Program-Africa, in collaboration with their respective partners and COIL fellows Nkadi Onyegegbu (from University of Nigeria Nsukka) and Fydess Khundi (from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi). Tessmer's poster was titled "Water Business for a Better World: From COIL to Action" and Zeleke's poster was titled "Collaborative Online International Learning: The MSU-LUANAR Experience."
 

Additionally, during the conference a very successful Networking Meetup for Virtual Exchange & COIL Community took place, attended by more than 35 people and organized by John E. Fowler (Institutional Mentor for Virtual Exchange and COIL, formerly with the American Association of Colleges and Universities-AAC&U), Keiko Ikeda (Kansai University-Japan), Alfonso Díaz Segura (CEU Educational Group-Spain), and Antoinette Tessmer (Michigan State University-USA). According to Fowler: "It was wonderful to see people reconnecting or meeting each other for the first time and sharing their experiences and excitement for our growing field of COIL and Virtual Exchange!"

Presentation at IAIE 2025 Conference: June 11-13

Last but not least, one COIL-related presentation happened during the International Association for Intercultural Education (IAIE) 2025 Conference, focused this year on "Currents in Education: Navigating Change in Languages, Cultures, and Communities."

MSU COIL fellow Antoinette Tessmer and Leticia Cherchiglia (from MSU's Center for Global Learning and Innovation) led the roundtable titled "Sustainability from Local to Global using the COIL Pedagogy," in collaboration with others who contributed through pre-recorded videos:

• COIL fellow Nkadi Onyegegbu (from University of Nigeria Nsukka)
• COIL fellow Jade Verbeek (from University of Pretoria, South Africa)
• Opal Leeman Bartzis (from MSU's Center for Global Learning and Innovation).

This roundtable helped showcase how COIL can help promote intercultural discussions about global issues and foster students’ global learning, hopefully leading to advocacy and action.

Mark your calendars: MSU’s first COIL Symposium & Celebration is happening on September 19 (8am-12pm U.S. Eastern Time) to praise the accomplishments of 30+ fellows who are part of MSU’s COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa.

Featuring flash talks, dynamic small group discussions, and a keynote speaker, this hybrid event will also allow attendees to learn more about COIL and engage with like-minded peers on other topics related to global learning. To help us better prepare for this event, please RSVP at your earliest convenience. We hope that you will be able to join us!