Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
COIL at Unicollege connects two university classrooms through a shared academic project, allowing students and faculty to work across countries without requiring physical mobility. Developed directly between partner universities, a COIL may be embedded within an existing course, delivered as a shared module, or structured as a short thematic collaboration.
The academic design remains with the participating faculty. Projects typically combine preparatory teaching, guided online exchange, and collaborative work such as comparative case studies, joint research, presentations, intercultural analysis, or project-based assignments. Where appropriate, the collaboration may include assessed outputs, reflective work, and faculty feedback, ensuring that the international component remains part of the formal academic experience.
Establishing a COIL
A collaboration begins by matching the relevant discipline, courses, faculty, and student cohorts. The two universities then agree on the academic scope, duration, learning objectives, digital format, time-zone schedule, student activities, and expected deliverables. Existing syllabi can be aligned rather than replaced, allowing the international component to fit naturally within each institution’s curriculum. English serves as the common language for international activities, while assessment and credit recognition can be defined where relevant.
COIL can operate as a focused internationalization project in its own right or as an accessible first stage of a wider university-to-university relationship, creating faculty familiarity and curricular precedent before developing semester mobility, faculty exchanges, faculty-led programs, or other forms of institutional cooperation. Projects can be developed across the humanities, social sciences, business, communication, international affairs, applied languages, and related disciplines.
Faculty or international offices may approach Unicollege with an existing course, a disciplinary area, or simply an interest in finding an appropriate academic counterpart; the International Office coordinates the institutional and faculty connection from there.
Start a COIL CollaborationWrite to the International Office with your course or disciplinary area