Fostering cultural sensitivity among university students through engagement in international projects¬presenting various methods to enhance the cultural intelligence of university students

This study derives its foundation from the outcomes of a Virtual Exchange initiative, involving 73 students from three distinct universities: Budapest Business University, Hungary; University of Sfax, Tunisia and Ismir Democracy University, Turkey. The project provided an in-depth exploration of the three countries from diverse angles, including cultural, social, historical, sociological, gastronomic, and various other perspectives, as observed, and presented by university students. In 8-month research the author examined the cognitive, behavioural, motivational, and cultural aspects of cultural intelligence of university students before and after the 6-week long Virtual Exchange project and compared the pre-and post-project results. The paper summarizes the results of a research carried out in 2024. In this research, the author scrutinized the levels of sensitivity among students both prior to and following collaborative work within a cross-cultural project with their international counterparts. The study aimed to ascertain whether engagement and collaboration within a multinational environment yield supplementary values, as well as identifying the specific soft skills cultivated through such collaborative endeavours. The results indicate that engagement in collaborative international projects with foreign peers can significantly enhance cultural sensitivity.