Introduction/Rationale: Universities have the responsibility to prepare students to live and work in a global society. FH Campus Wien (Austria), Jönköping University (Sweden), Tung Wah College (China), Kitasato University (Japan) and Polytechnic University of Leiria (Portugal), collaborate in the pursuit of bringing students in contact with international students from the beginning of their occupational therapy education through the educational approach of virtual exchange (VE).
Objectives: This project aims to connect students from different cultural backgrounds with online collaborative learning, promote awareness of the benefits and challenges of international networking understand others and their cultures, accepting it with the inherent differences and similarities.
Methods/Approach: The learning activities consisted of two/three meetings in small international online peer groups in semesters one (N=95), three (N=99), and five (N=35). The focus of the learning activities was on intercultural awareness, intercultural competence, and intercultural communication as a part of the curriculum.
Results/Practice implications: The evaluations collected 242 answers and showed that language and big differences in communication styles were the biggest challenges for many students. The students evaluated it as positive that they could build their professional network on an international level and start to build on their international understanding and intercultural competence.
Conclusion/Contribution to the occupational therapy profession: Most students gain awareness of their knowledge concerning intercultural competencies. In addition, the students could perceive the necessity of respect, flexibility, openness, and skills to establish communication with peers from another cultural context. VE activities foster collaboration and shared objectives, strengthening intercultural competence among students and teachers. This collaborative learning effectively engages students in internationalization at home.