Intercultural Exchange Workshop

Academic unit or major

Entrepreneurship courses

Instructor(s)

Kumiko Kiuchi / Kayoko Nohara / Rie Murakami

Class Format

Exercise (Blended)

Media-enhanced courses

-

Day of week/Period
(Classrooms)

9-10 Intensive

Class

-

Course Code

ENT.G257

Number of credits

020

Course offered

2026

Offered quarter

2Q

Syllabus updated

Apr 6, 2026

Language

English

※ Courses with parentheses in the course number have different subject codes depending on the student's year of admission.

Syllabus

Course overview and goals

This is a collaborative, project-based intercultural exchange course conducted in partnership with the Language Center at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Registrants exchange opinions on various topics—ranging from everyday subjects to social issues and specialized fields—with members who have different native languages, shared knowledge, and cultural backgrounds. Together, they identify common challenges, develop action plans for fieldwork, and execute them. The course aims to provide students with hands-on experience in multicultural and multilingual set-ups, developing leadership skills and gaining the experience of completing a project through collaboration with peers.

The primary language used in class is English. There will also be opportunities to converse in simple Japanese with students learning Japanese. Classes are a combination of in-person and online sessions (see the course schedule for details). The course period consists of the 2nd quarter and an intensive summer in-person group project (September 7th to 11th).

Course description and aims

1) Developing Intercultural Communication Skills
Through experiences in intercultural communication, students will cultivate the ability to elicit unknown knowledge and effectively convey, recognize, and understand cultural differences.

2) Fostering Interdisciplinary Curiosity and Exploration
By collaborating with students from different countries and academic fields, students will nurture interdisciplinary curiosity and a spirit of inquiry, broadening their own perspectives.

3) Enhancing Goal-Oriented Planning and Action Skills
Through self-directed group activities, students will acquire the ability to set concrete plans and take action to achieve their goals.

Keywords

intercultural understanding, intercultural adaptation, language exchange, collaborative learning, cultural identity

Competencies

• Specialist skills
• Intercultural skills
• Communication skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Week 1 is conducted only with Science Tokyo students. Classes from weeks 2 to 6 will be conducted via Zoom, connecting Tokyo and Munich online. From Week 7 to 14, the course will be held in-person, interactive workshop during the summer intensive session.

Course schedule/Objectives

Study advice (preparation and review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.

Textbook(s)

Handouts

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Kleeman, Karin, ed. (2020), Ecopolis München 2019: environmental stories of discovery. Rachel Carson Center for Society and Environment. (https://rccve.ub.uni-muenchen.de/rccve/article/view/23/49)

Evaluation methods and criteria

1) Group Presentation (40%)
Format: Video and Powerpoint slides

2) Individual Report (40%)
The report may be written in both Japanese and English.
Length requirement:
At least 2,500 Japanese characters if you are writing in Japanese
At least 1,250 words if you are writing in English
At least half of the report must be written in English.
The content should address several questions, including:
A summary of your presentation
A report on how tasks were divided among group members
Reflections on what you learned or noticed through the intercultural experience

3) Reflection Sheet (20%)

Related courses

• ENT.G457 ： Intercultural Exchange Workshop Advanced

Prerequisites

Students are expected to have the English skills equivalent of B1 in the CEFR (this is not a requirement) and Japanese skills equivalent B1-B2. We welcome students who are able to have everyday conversation and willing to improve their communication skills.

Applications for short-term study abroad programs at the Technical University of Munich are scheduled to open in preparation for the spring 2027 session. This course is mandatory for students receiving scholarships that require prior coursework.

If the number of applicants exceeds the capacity, a separate selection process will be conducted. If you would like to be considered in the selection process, please sign up for the course by 30 April.

Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).

Please contact the tutor via Slack ＃Kumiko Kiuchi アントレプレナーシップ機構　リベラルアーツ研究教育院
You can also post a question on the course channel: ＃異文化交流実践実習-2026-授業前問合せ窓口

Other

We plan to hold an extracurricular activity before class on September 5 or 6. Participation is optional. Further details will be announced in class.