From a COIL Project to a Solo Trip to Rome: How an Academic Assignment Led to an International Friendship
By Jane Bergin, 4th Year BComm student. Sometimes, the most meaningful experiences from education are the ones that continue long after an assignment has been submitted. During my third year studying International Hotel Management at Shannon College of Hotel Management, I took part in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project as part of a Principles of Marketing module with Ms Celine Ryan . The project connected our class with students from FH Wien in Vienna, giving us the opportunity to learn about another culture, while applying consumer behaviour and marketing theory. My COIL partner was Maia from Rome and studying Tourism Studies in Vienna. Through emails, video calls and messages, we learned about each other's lives, cultures and interests. One of my favourite aspects of the project was exchanging language phrases and sharing cultural traditions. For the assignment itself, I developed a consumer profile based on Maia's interests and explored how a p...
