SBUS10180 Intercultural Skills: Exploring Your Host Country

Academic Year 2021/2022

This module provides BSc Business and visiting students with an introduction and overview of the culture, society, history and business environment of modern Ireland. In also includes opportunities to experience aspects of Irish culture and expand your intercultural skills. By getting to know your host country, it’s people and culture, and reflecting on your lived experience of the transition to Ireland, you have the opportunity to explore, question and further develop your intercultural awareness and competencies. Intercultural competence is a valuable asset in interacting with people from different cultures and countries who have been shaped by different values, beliefs and experiences

In particular the module will seek to place Ireland’s evolution in a European and global context, illustrating the globalised nature of Ireland’s economic and social transformation. Only a matter of a few decades ago, over 90% of all Irish exports went to the United Kingdom, now Ireland is host to the European headquarters of several global giants.

Using Ireland’s social, cultural and economic story as the backdrop, the module thus has twin goals. Firstly, to consider the characteristics of the local business environment and develop an understanding of the national and local cultural and social context.

Secondly, to take the opportunity of transitioning to a new country to consider culture in action, explore how different experiences and backgrounds shape and impact your perception of the world in relation to your home or other country experiences, and how you react and adapt to the unfamiliar, and continue to build your intercultural skills.

The module will be delivered through a combination of lectures, class dialogue, case studies, and class trips providing students with knowledge and applied understanding of culture in action. While focused on the context of modern Ireland, this module will give you the tools and frameworks to better understand your own cultural context and appreciate and learn from others. Through participation in the interactive learning activities, you will better understand the nature of culture, the skills that underpin it, and the value of cultural dialogue in action.

This module aims to enhance your experience of international study by bringing students from diverse backgrounds and cultures together to work collaboratively, developing core skills while also increasing your sense of connection with Ireland and the university community.

Assessment will involve a mix of reflective learning, an individual paper and a short collaborative multimedia group project. Through the coursework activities, you will be encouraged to develop your reflective, creative and critical abilities, information and communication capacities, and your collaborative learning and intercultural skills.