On 19th – 23rd February, the delegates from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam finally met their Glasgow counterparts face to face for some intensive co-creation of their coil programmes. Some joined the first day’s workshops straight off the plane! By the end of the week they had thrashed out five brand new programmes on Healthy Lives, Employability, Social Entrepreneurship and event Chocolate – you can imagine which COIL was most popular with participants! The week ended with the signing of an MOU between the partner Universities as a first step to delivering the programmes.
But there was time for relaxation too. As well as the ubiquitous campus tour, the partners had a cultural visit to the Kelvingrove Museum and a final day in Edinburgh including a meeting with The Melting Pot Social Innovation incubator. There was even a chance for partners to learn some Scottish dancing!
It proved an invaluable experience for our Southeast Asian partners. Anh Phuong commented, “Hearing perspectives from the other partners from Glasgow and Southeast Asia, has transformed my approach to teaching.” From Glasgow, Michael McQuire and Patricia Muñoszde Escalona agreed that it was a unique opportunity to drill down into the detail of the partners’ programmes.