Developing Global Competences and Values for Sustainable Development for Interdisciplinary Students Through a COIL Experience Between Chile and Colombia

This full paper on innovative practice reports a COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) educational experience, based on the UNESCO's Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), designed to teach about water resource management, strengthen attitudes and values towards sustainable development, and develop intercultural competences in undergraduate students from Colombia and Chile. 60 third-year engineering students from Chile and 40 students who attend basic science courses to enter a medical career from Colombia were involved in the practice. The didactics were based on the main COIL's elements (icebreaker, collaborative task, and reflection), and introductory activities for cultural exchange, collaborative content production, and reflection through a learning log were implemented. The experience was developed around the analysis of severe hydric stress of two regions: Coquimbo (Chile) and La Guajira (Colombia). Attitudes and skills for interculturality, and socio-affective development goals were assessed. The results showed that the students understood the global nature of the problems and the urgency to address them through an ESG (environmental, social and governance) approach. In the socio-affective dimension, the students progressed from feeling fearful, shy, and frustrated, to feel motivated and sensitized towards the problem analyzed, and towards the experience of intercultural exchange. Additionally, they showed interest in reflecting and modifying their water consumption habits and becoming active agents of change. The experience left learnings about the key factors for successful COIL implementation, such as curricular and operational logistics, sociocultural differences, the nature of the topics discussed, and the type of didactics that should be used for authentic student involvement.