BENEATH THE grove of trees, the Red Brick Road comes alive with students from all walks of life, pervading the campus with laughter and chatter all around. To many, this scene has replayed throughout their college life several times. To some, it is an invitation into a world unlike their own.

International exchange students (IXS) are welcomed to the Ateneo with chika about campus professors, detailed descriptions of sisig, and plans to meet at white sand beaches—signifying the beginning of a cross-cultural exchange that grants students a plethora of memorable experiences.

Unfortunately, this scenario currently remains to be a distant memory of the past, for the pandemic has brought unprecedented setbacks in the Loyola Schools’ International Student Exchange Program. However, in an effort to materialize the Ateneo’s vision of internationalization amid the online setup, the University once again opened its doors to IXS through the Online Learning Exchange Program (OLEP).

Maneuvering the ship

For Korina Takeuchi, a third-year student of International Christian University from Japan, the online student exchange experience dulls compared to the possible colorful memories of physically immersing in the LS community.

As one of the students included in the pioneering OLEP batch, Takeuchi’s motivations for applying to the program are simple. She primarily chose the Ateneo because she wanted to study both English and a new language. “I am [a] little more confident about myself because gradually, I feel like my English skill has been improving,” she shares. The Filipino language course she is taking has also helped develop her skills in speaking Filipino.

She still finds most of her courses enjoyable even with the online setup, which fulfills the two-way process of cross-cultural exchange where the learning and sharing of cultures intertwine.

A distinct memory she had from her experience was when her professor asked her to talk about Japan’s former Princess Mako, whose story made rounds on social media after she gave up her royal title to marry a commoner. Despite apprehensions, she was delighted by the class’ positive reactions.

While she was able to share a piece of her culture, she has gained insights from her classmates’ culture as well. For her Philippine Cinema course, she took interest in the class’ featured films because of her peers who discussed and imparted knowledge on Filipino values.

However, Takeuchi’s experience still comes with a set of challenges—all worsened by the online setup. For one, the language barrier remains to be a problem for organic interactions to transpire. “When Filipino students start talking in Filipino, I feel like I’m left behind,” she divulges.

Additionally, cultural differences further play a part in her experience. Pertaining specifically to group work, she shared that there are occasions where she finds it difficult when her Filipino friends work on a requirement a day before the deadline. “Japanese people prefer to prepare as soon as possible,” she adds. 

She also mentioned having trouble arranging group work through Facebook due to limitations in face-to-face communication, shedding light on the downsides of online learning.

Apart from her classmates and peers, Takeuchi has also faced challenges with the Office of International Relations (OIR) that is responsible for guiding IXS throughout the academic year.

Takeuchi lamented how the OIR announced procedures regarding Withdrawal with Permission through a Facebook post without any further details. This prompted her to message the OIR’s official page for help, but it was to no avail. In the end, she was able to accomplish the process on her own. However, she missed her deadline after she was unable to click submit.

While she understands the mistake on her part, she hopes that the OIR would consider IXS’ unfamiliarity with the Ateneo’s various systems and inform students better on procedures.

Surfing the tides of globalization

Cruising through the rough seas of the online setup takes time to get used to. However, border closures opened the doors for the development of digital instrumentalities to sustain education. For the Ateneo, this has birthed the OLEP.

According to OIR ‌Interim‌ ‌Inbound‌ ‌Coordinator‌ Karla Roxas, a total of 40 students from the Ateneo’s partner universities in nine countries—Belgium, Brunei, China, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain—enrolled in the program since its launch in the second semester of AY 2020-2021.

Political Science Assistant Professor Alma Salvador, PhD shared that the online exchange program is a response to the constraint of the pandemic. She emphasizes that the program, like any initiative of the Ateneo, was created along the lines of its thrust and educational philosophy of “being persons for others.” Thus, all foreign exchange projects administered are always geared towards a level of competency and the greater good.

“When we speak of internationalization of higher education, what is being internationalized through transnational processes is education, per se. Education is never territorial… it knows no boundaries,” Salvador elaborates.

Ultimately, Ateneo was incentivized to transform into a global university because globalization brings forth the inevitability of internationalization.

“Academic mobility requires face-to-face interactions because it entails socialization in the realm of culture. When you’re a student abroad, you’re not only there to study but you’re there to [undergo] an immersive process of acculturation,” highlights Salvador.

She notes that internationalizing higher education institutions (HEIs) is operationalized through mobility programs. These programs require the movements of students or faculty to different HEIs to abide by certain partnerships.

Notably, the geophysical boundaries of cross-cultural education have now been broken down thanks to the maximization of digital platforms. Salvador says that this provides more outlets for the University to partake in the creation and production of knowledge, the ultimate functions of academia. It bridges the Ateneo to the rest of the world, allowing it to benchmark curricular programs in the University.

Once the OLEP is further improved and institutionalized, she adds that it will become possible to commence other exchange opportunities in the University—particularly the launching of courses offered entirely online.

Transcending barriers

Amid the setbacks of online learning, Ateneo remains determined to pursue its mission of internationalizing education to tear down communication barriers and borders to progress.

However,the University must ensure that its online system is efficient and the community is inclusive in order to reach this goal. Doing so plays a great part in the overall experience of the IXS and the success of the program.

“My life as an Atenean is challenging, but I also enjoy my difficulties,” Takeuchi shares. Her positive disposition has helped her find joy in her challenges, but this also reflects  the need to take further steps in improving the IXS’ experience.

To achieve internationalization, the LS community must heed the voices of the IXS  as a vital stakeholder in the actualization of a global university. The Ateneo must enhance its navigation chart towards inclusive education—one that is buoyant amidst the ebbs and flows, capable of seeing beyond differences despite being miles apart.