Welcome to Global Classrooms
Our vision
Global Classrooms is a space for all university educators to cultivate transformative exchanges and environments via international collaborations.
Global Classrooms supports educators from across the university to develop collaborations via four global modalities; culture, research, education and business exchanges. These strands distinguish the way in which we connect students, academics and professionals internationally; developing inventive approaches to teaching and learning and delivering experiences for international mobility.
We do this through the delivery of grant funding and connecting educators with our in-house networks of specialised services to support and encourage the designing, ideating and testing of a collaborative idea.
Our vision, in an era of global challenges, is to encourage mobalisation of Global Classrooms environments through;
Communities of practice for international collaboration, bringing together colleagues across the university to participate in interdisciplinary, intercultural, intergenerational and online collaboration.
Global Partnerships between educators, students and business, providing opportunities for collaborations that inform future education, and offer a space to imagine and implement longstanding possibilities for connection.
The work of Global Classrooms is underpinned by its guiding principles of Transformative Education; inclusive education, racial, social justice and sustainability and is inextricably linked to our Strategy 2030.
Cartas Vivias
Project team: Prof. Nuria Capdevila-Argüelles and Dr. Isabel Santafé
Project: The Cartas Vivas project, launched in 2023-2024, is a collaboration between the University of Exeter and Madrid’s Universidad Complutense. Led by Prof. Nuria Capdevila-Argüelles and Dr. Isabel Santafé, the project connects Exeter’s ‘Women and Feminism in 20th Century Spain’ module with Madrid’s ‘Literatura y medios de comunicación’.
Through a shared exploration of key female authors, students engage in an international exchange of ideas, with the Cartas Vivas project—a digital feminist memory archive—acting as a key learning resource. In June 2024, both institutions co-created virtual archive tours, enriching students’ research experiences with an intercultural focus.
This project exemplifies sustainable global citizenship, with future collaborations planned with Madrid’s Autumn University and Visual Studies Department.
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Social Cartographies
Project Team: Dr. Gillian Juleff, Dr. Deborah McFarlane and Ayson Mercer
Project: The social cartographies project builds on long-standing research collaborations between the University of Exeter and the Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna. Led by Dr. Gillian Juleff, Dr. Deborah McFarlane and Ayson Mercer, this Global Classrooms pilot aimed to expand this work into a digital space, connecting 32 students and 7 staff from Exeter and Sri Lanka.
Five online sessions encouraged students to co-create and conduct a creative social cartography, exploring themes such as religion and ritual, monuments and memorials. The project produced dynamic ‘place engagements’ through written pieces, videos, and soundscapes, with the results being developed into a video overview.
The project’s success led to the drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding between the institutions, and plans for future collaboration are underway.
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Global Classrooms for Health Profession Education
Project Team: Prof. Vrinda Nayak and Dr. Winnie Nyinoh
Project: Global Classrooms for Health Profession Education (HPE) Network, a collaboration across universities at MAHE India, IAU Saudi Arabia, NUMed Malaysia, and Sheffield teaching hospital (NHS) UK.
Led by Prof. Vrinda Nayak and Dr. Winnie Nyinoh from the University of Exeter, this initiative, looked to enhance intercultural competence within healthcare education; via six international meetings over six months, and brought together staff and students for cross-border learning exchanges.
Key outcomes include the development of an HPE network logo, the launch of a project website, and the creation of guidelines for good practices in global health education. The initiative was showcased at the International Congress of Health Workforce Education and Research in Barcelona in June 2024.
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Sensorial Classrooms
Project team: Dr. Michael J Flexer and Gemma Lucas
Project: Sensorial classrooms a collaborative project between the University of Exeter, UNC Chapel Hill, and Duke Medical School. Led by Dr. Michael J Flexer and Gemma Lucas from Exeter, alongside colleagues from UNC and Duke.
This initiative piloted a module exploring health humanities, focusing on embodiment, (dis)ability, self-knowledge, and mental and social alienation.
The team co-created the module during a workshop in May 2024 at UNC and Duke, developing course content and testing innovative online immersive platforms. The module includes sensory-rich resources to enhance virtual learning environments.
A postgraduate pilot is currently running, featuring a virtual campus with interactive spaces representing all partner institutions. A second pilot for undergraduates and medical students is set for early 2025.
Looking ahead, the team aims to expand the module, engage more international partners, and explore advanced teaching methods like virtual reality. This model is expected to drive interdisciplinary learning and foster global collaboration.
CAOS/EJ - CAmpus On Stage/Environmental Justice
Project Team: Livia Regina Batista, David Monciardini, Laura Colombo, Tiago de Melo Cartaxo, Caroline Keenan, Mario Aldo Cedrini, and Angelo Miramonti
Project: The CAOS/EJ project aims to enhance environmental justice (EJ) education through international collaboration between the University of Exeter and the University of Turin. By using educational theatre and podcasts to dramatize environmental conflicts, the project fosters active learning, inclusivity, and critical thinking. It provides educators and students with participatory tools that make complex socio-ecological issues more accessible, while also promoting restorative justice and environmental awareness. The project will produce open-access resources and materials for use in university curricula.
