Presented By: Sushil Paudyal, Texas A&M University

Cultural competency is a valuable skill for undergraduate students who aspire to work in the global agriculture industry. However, traditional methods of developing cultural competency, such as study abroad and foreign trips, are often limited by resources, time and logistics. Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is an alternative pedagogical approach that connects students and faculty from different countries to learn from each other through online platforms. In this presentation, we report the findings from a pilot COIL project conducted at Texas A&M Animal Science in collaboration with a partner institution in Nepal. The project was implemented in three semesters (fall 2022, spring 2023 and fall 2023) as part of ANSC 429 Dairy Production Management course. A total of 100 students (56 from the US and 44 from Nepal) participated in the project, which involved completing a team project on a socio-economic problem in the agriculture sector. The students met monthly online to discuss the problem and potential solutions from their respective perspectives. We collected pre-post surveys and student reflections to evaluate the impact of the project. Students rating on the understanding of global dairy system improved from 4 to 9, international agriculture system from 5 to 7.8, Understanding of places outside of USA from 7.9 to 8.8 and understanding of people outside of USA from 7.59 to 8.6 on a 10-point scale. Students indicated that overall cultural competency increased in students from 6.5 to 8.3 on a 10-point scale. A thematic analysis of the student reflections revealed four major themes: small holder agriculture knowledge, international agriculture, teamwork, and knowledge sharing. Based on these findings, we conclude that COIL is an effective and innovative way of enhancing cultural competency in undergraduate students.