Apply for the ISEP COIL Academy

ABOUT THE ISEP COIL ACADEMY

The ISEP COIL Academy is an exclusive program for the ISEP Community that provides structured mentoring and best practices provided by Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and virtual exchange experts. Selected participants will design or enhance a course they will teach collaboratively.

Working within a small cohort of ISEP Academy Fellows, participants will be matched with collaborators and mentored through the process of designing a COIL course using Padlet, a collaborative online educational platform.

Topics in this 8-week Academy include an overview of the COIL methodology; the virtual exchange course planning process, including what barriers to anticipate and how to overcome them; how to use the Padlet platform to collaborate and develop your course; additional tools and technologies to make your COIL course an engaging experience for your students; and an individual review of and feedback on your course syllabus, identified learning outcomes and activities.

Due to limited space, this exclusive benefit requires the submission of an application.

Submit an Application

Mentorship & Instruction

The ISEP COIL Academy will be led by a COIL expert trainer. COIL expert trainers specialize in international education and its corresponding technology. Their contributions support ISEP’s mission to promote and facilitate opportunities in higher education that advance the global learning experience and provide further international education access to students using a different methodology.

ISEP’s COIL trainer, Brenda Garcia Portillo, has over 24 years of experience in international education, with a deep specialization in intercultural competence and internationalization at home. She has spent nearly a decade leading Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and Virtual Exchange (VE) initiatives, both in Mexico and globally. Brenda currently serves as the Coordinator for Culture and Education at the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, Mexico.

Eligibility

Applicants should be prepared to create or enhance a course that incorporates collaborative online learning through a COIL module. The course will include students from two different institutions in two different countries working together. This can be added to a class you already teach, or it can be a new class you design in partnership with your assigned colleague. Applicants are not required to hold a Ph.D. or be tenured/tenure-track. We will consider adjuncts and doctoral students who are in teaching positions.

Benefits

Individualized mentorship
Training in designing and creating a COIL course
Increased international engagement for you and your students
A certificate from ISEP confirming completion of the COIL Academy

Academy Dates and Time Commitment

The Academy will begin the week of March 3 and run for 8 weeks.
The Academy will include 8 live training sessions, scheduled to accommodate multiple time zones, over 8 weeks. After being selected for the Academy, participants will be polled about their availability. Each live session will be approximately 75 minutes in length and will include all Academy participants. Our COIL expert trainer will set specific milestones for each session.
Participants should plan to commit 75 minutes each week to attending live sessions. In addition, our COIL expert trainer will establish separate meetings for the faculty pairs to design and research their course.
Our COIL expert trainer will be available to provide additional support and guidance after the Academy ends as needed.

Application Process

Submit an application, which will ask for your contact information, a copy of your CV, a brief statement of interest, and your availability during the Academy dates.
Applications are due Monday, February 3.
20 individuals will be selected for the Academy.
Faculty Fellows will be informed of their acceptance into the Academy the week of February 17.

Selection Process

A selection committee comprised of academic and professional staff from the ISEP Community will review all applicants and select participants for the Academy. The committee will consider applicants’ interest in collaborative teaching, ability to teach a collaborative course, commitment to attending live sessions of the Academy, and geographic diversity. The selection committee will also consider the potential to pair participants for courses based on their disciplines. Cross-disciplinary coursework is encouraged.

For those not selected for the Academy, we do encourage you to apply in the future. The ISEP COIL Academy will be offered twice yearly during the Northern Hemisphere Spring and Fall.