Strengthening U.S.-Japan Higher Education Ties through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)

Based on the longitudinal data collected from institutional teams of several U.S.-Japan multi-year grant initiatives,this article will examine the motives and outcomes of a recent U.S.-Japan bilateral government initiative that piloted Virtual Exchange/Collaborative Online International Learning (VE/COIL) as a means to enhance higher education relations beyond study mobility, both in a pre-COVID and post-COVID context. It will address how VE/COIL brought together different higher education stakeholders from both countries and how it proved to be a highly adaptable method for the delivery of global teaching, learning and research. Although a growing number of U.S. and Japanese higher education institutions are piloting VE/COIL programs, traditional institutional structural differences have complicated the scalability and sustainability of VE/COIL programs between both countries. Nevertheless, with more evidence-based research and strengthened collaborative approaches amongst higher education institutions and associations, VE/ COIL is continuing to grow and shows great promise for strengthening innovative inclusive internationalisation both in the U.S. and Japan.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36197/INT.2-2022.01