Cultivation of Global Competencies in the Post-COVID-19 Era: A Multinational Survey

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly affected global higher education, leading to widespread online learning. This study conducted a multinational comparative survey in 2022 to investigate whether university education, providing students with global competencies (GC) through international mobility, continues to function in the post-pandemic era. Moreover, we examined whether online learning can effectively impart GC. We surveyed students from Japan, the U.S., South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia to examine the ideal state and direction of university education promoting GC and internationalization in the post-COVID-19 era. Furthermore, we interviewed U.S., South Korean, and Taiwanese faculty members. The results demonstrated that although Japanese students self-evaluated GC acquisition both before and after the pandemic, the differences in scores at the time of the survey were relatively high compared with other countries. Responses from students from five countries suggest that the use of the online format of the class is essential.