Cross-university virtual teamwork as a means of internationalization at home

Abstract In today's globalized world, international competencies and the ability to communicate effectively in global virtual teams are key workplace requirements. To offer university students an opportunity for internationalization at home and simultaneously provide them with the experience of working in virtual project teams, we present a universally applicable international telecooperative project. In this teaching approach, students from different universities and fields of study worldwide collectively solve problems in a simulated business environment and present their findings to a remote professor for grading. The analysis of the pilot testing with 150 students from 26 nations indicates that the participants have recognized the difficulties that can occur when working in international, interdisciplinary, and geographically distributed teams. Rated as a valuable experience by 80% of the participants, the presented online educational concept constitutes an important contribution in the tertiary education sector, especially in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.