For the first time, a mandatory undergraduate course participated in a COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) internationalization activity at Insper. The History of Economic Thought class, in the fourth semester of the Economics program, interacted with colleagues from the Budapest Business School (BBS), in Hungary. Professor Pedro Garcia Duarte from Insper and Professor Gyöngyi Csongrádi from BBS chose the theme “Why do we need government intervention in the economy?”

 

The students were able to deepen their knowledge of economics and discuss the relationships between the current economic situation and economic theories in their historical context. They met weekly, in seven groups of three Insper students and three BBS students. The exercise resulted in a five-minute video, in which each group addressed a topic: oil market, healthcare, marketing and advertising, financial market, labor market, energy, early childhood education, and primary education.

 

The COIL activity is a planned insertion between two or more professors from different universities and countries with the common goal of bringing an international perspective on one or more topics to their classes. Organized by Insper's International Relations department, this type of initiative is part of the strategic planning for the internationalization of the school's programs.

 

For Duarte, the activity helps to democratize and normalize the international experience among undergraduates — particularly for those who, for various reasons, do not spend an exchange period outside Brazil. “They can experience interacting with people from different cultures and dealing with various differences in work organization and even time zones,” says Duarte. “When they enter the job market, depending on the positions they reach, these experiences will be very common.”

 

The production of short videos offers an extra challenge, as it is a language that usually goes beyond the attributes of humanities courses, which are centered on writing. But there was preparation to ensure good results. After the initial presentations of professors and students and the initial classes by Duarte and Gyöngyi, the groups had to deliver intermediate assignments, providing data references and authors on government intervention in the economy. There were seven weeks of interaction until the final video version.

 

As the Hungarian students were taking an Introduction to Economics course, they were responsible for gathering data, while the Brazilian colleagues framed this analysis in the historical context of the development of economic ideas and theories. Together, they could provide a comprehensive and critical view of the chosen sector perspective.

 

Sophia Pinheiro Bahia Putti, one of the students who participated in the activity, considered it an opportunity for professional and personal development. “From a personal point of view, all learning and practice of the English language and a new language are relevant for the future,” she says. “This may have also been the main challenge in my view, as we must be clear and objective during group meetings. Knowing how to convey all information among members, so that everyone agrees on what is being done and researched, leads us to the need to be clear and dynamic during group interactions, respecting the learning process and the way research is conducted in each culture.”