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Intercultural communication at Chalmers, Teacher survey

Intercultural communication in the classroom

1. How many courses do you have at the Master"s level?

0»		7		3%
1»		111		58%
2»		52		27%
3»		8		4%
4 or more»		11		5%

Genomsnitt: 2.49 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- I participate as a teacher regularly in two courses in master"s programmes.» (0)
- As MPA I"m reponisble for the overall picture of several master"s courses but my teaching in thoose is very limited.» (0)
- Have had 3 courses, but today only conduct Master thesis supervision» (0)
- Dont know- it keeps changing» (1)
- Often two in ayear» (1)
- Waste Management» (1)
- responsible for one course, guest lecture in three others » (1)
- 1 where I am the examinator. Participate with lectures in others» (1)
- I am the course coordinator and main techaer of one matsters course but I am also involved in 2 others whereof one only with 2 lectures and the other more adminstrative issues» (1)
- A large 15-credits core course of the programme.» (1)
- currently (does not mirror my experience!)» (1)
- + a lot of MSc theses» (1)
- I am examiner for one elective course, and then a core part of design and delivery of the 60 credit masters thesis give to the Tech, bio and in part corp tracks of the Entrepreneurship and Business Design program. » (1)
- I teach in several courses, but responsible for one major course.» (1)
- During Fall 14 I was involved in two, but usually I am just involved in one. I am not the examiner in any course.» (1)
- I also participate in 4 more courses.» (2)
- Assist with guest lectures etc in two more MSc-level courses » (2)
- examiner for one, teaching in two» (2)
- International master students, courses in English» (2)
- If you mean how many I examine it"s 2 (which I answered), if you mean how many I teach in, it"s 4 or more. » (2)
- course co-responsible» (2)
- I am currently teacher and examiner of one MSc-level course and I am examiner in the MSc thesis course. I have taught other courses earlier.» (2)
- I am the examiner of one course, supervises in another course. » (2)
- 1 as examiner, 2 as co-teacher» (3)
- One of them is Master thesis» (3)
- Det är på Chalmers enda masterprogram på svenska, Lärande och ledarskap. Alltså är det 100% svensktalande studenter. Så jag avstår från av svara på nedanstående frågor.» (3)
- I teach 3 courses but I am only course responsible for one of these.» (3)
- One in old master programme (before 2007), 3 in current programme» (4 or more)
- one as examiner, guest lecturing in other 3.» (4 or more)
- The term "have" is a bit misleading. I participate in the teaching of 4 courses at Master"s level, am the examiner for 3 of these. Two of these are within MPLOL where I find some intercultural issues but not at all as many as within other master programs.» (4 or more)
- I am examiner of one course and participate as teacher in 3 other courses.» (4 or more)
- 2 of my own, contributing to others » (4 or more)
Genomsnitt totalt för detta stycke: 2.49

If you chose 1 or more courses in question 1 - please continue to question 2.

2. How many students did you have in your most recently taught course?

Less than 10»		11		6%
10-20»		43		23%
21-30»		25		13%
31-40»		37		20%
41-50»		23		12%
50+»		42		23%

Genomsnitt: 3.79 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- It used to be 10-20 until the government decided that only Europeans would get free education here.» (Less than 10)
- 22» (21-30)
- 40 exactly» (31-40)
- 58 total (38 master students 20 external)» (50+)
- 120» (50+)
- In March 2015 the final result is * 68 did the lab (50 passed, 18 failed) * 57 did the exam (27 passed, 30 failed) and 26 passed both the exam and the labs. » (50+)
- The elective course has more than 50 students, from multiple programs. The 60cr MT has 33 students within one program. » (50+)
- other courses are often around 40-50 students» (50+)

3. What percentage of students in your most recent course would you estimate were international students?

184 svarande

Less than 20%»		40		21%
20-50%»		98		53%
50-70%»		31		16%
70-90%»		13		7%
over 90%»		2		1%

Genomsnitt: 2.12 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- 20-50% is too a great interval, should better be 10-20, 20-30, 30-50.... to better be accurate» (Less than 20%)
- It used to be 40% until the government decided that only Europeans would get free education here.» (Less than 20%)
- Wild guess - and I"m surprised you ask us to make wild guesses when it should be easy stat info to pick up from registration office.» (Less than 20%)
- But I"m not really sure.» (Less than 20%)
- The programme is given in Swedish so we don"t have any international students. We have some students who (or potentially their parents) have immigrated to Sweden.» (Less than 20%)
- 16 » (20-50%)
- between 20 and 30 %» (20-50%)
- 7 av 22» (20-50%)
- around half - 50% (differs a bit per year of course)» (20-50%)
- 15% PhD students» (20-50%)
- When I first joined Chalmers the percentage of international students in my courses was much higher.» (20-50%)

4. What would you say are the typical nationalities in your class?

189 svarande

(på denna fråga var det möjligt att välja flera svarsalternativ)

Sweden»		158		83%
India»		50		26%
China»		68		35%
Iran»		44		23%
Germany»		73		38%
France»		42		22%
Spain»		37		19%
Other Southeast Asian»		13		6%
Other European»		62		32%
The Middle East»		18		9%
Africa»		6		3%
South America»		6		3%
North America»		4		2%
Australasia»		0		0%
Other»		7		3%

- Sweden, Germany» (Sweden, China, Germany, France, Other European, The Middle East)
- Sweden and Iceland» (Sweden, Other European)
- Sweden - Spain» (Sweden, China, Germany, Spain, Other)
- There is no one dominating nation... 1-2 from several countries.» (Sweden)
- Swedish» (Sweden, China, Germany, Spain)
- Sweden, Germany» (Sweden, Germany, France, Other European, South America, North America)
- mostly Swedish the rest is 1 or 2 or 3 from other countries like Germany, India, China, France, Island...» (Sweden, Other Southeast Asian)
- Sweden, Iceland (this year)» (Sweden, China, Other European)
- This question is not easy to answer, the nationalities of the foreign students are different for year to year. However the main part of students is always from Sweden (with different background). » ()
- Swedish Iceland» (Sweden, Other European)
- Sweden, China» (Sweden, China, Germany, France, Spain, Other European, The Middle East)
- Don"t really know, teachers usually do not get that information. Mix of different countris.» (Sweden, Other European)
- It is predominantly swedish, and no clear other dominant nationality» (Sweden, North America)
- Indian, British» (India, Other European)
- As the international students are a mix, I cannot say what is the second most common nationality. Would be Kenya and Finland since there are 2 students from each» (Sweden, Other)
- Island Estland» (Sweden, Other European, The Middle East, Other)
- I don"t know the nationalities» (Sweden)
- Sweden is dominating. Spain, France, Germany are equally important and in relatively small numbers.» (Sweden, Spain)
- Don"t know. I don"t keep track of the nationalities of my students. » (Sweden, India, China, Iran, Other Southeast Asian)
- Sweden, Italy» (Sweden, Other European)
- Sweden, India» (Sweden, India, Germany, France)
- Swedish, Chinese» (Sweden, China, Germany, France, Spain, Other Southeast Asian, Other European)
- Vet ej» (Sweden, Iran, Germany, France, Other European)
- It is difficult to make a precise statement here since it may vary from year to year» (India, China)
- Usually not more than one or two from each country (except for Sweden), France, UK, Ireland, China, US, Germany, Iran..» (Sweden)
- it is very mixed.» (Sweden, China, Germany, France, Spain, Other Southeast Asian, Other European)
- To pick two countries will not give the correct picture. In most cases we have one or two from many different countries and the represented (non Swedish) nationalities vary from year to year.» (Sweden, Other European)
- Do not count student based on their nationallity» (Sweden)
- I rarely know what nationality my students are.» (Sweden, Germany, France, Spain)
- FRance and Germany are quite equal in number» (Sweden, France)
- I do not really know» (Sweden, China)
- Too few to say "typical", I guess 1-2 of each nationality represented.» ()
- Sweden, Germany» (Sweden, China, Iran, Germany, Spain, Other European)
- Sweden, India» (Sweden, India)
- i have no idea - many different nationalities» ()
- Sweden and India, Iceland or Germany (tied, all have 2)» (Sweden, India, China, Iran, Germany, Other Southeast Asian, The Middle East, Other)
- Sweden, Asia» (Sweden, China, Iran, Germany, The Middle East, Africa)
- I do not care were my students come from. Much-much more important is whether they are clever or not.» (Other)
- I do not know. I do not keep track of how many students there are from different countries.» (Sweden, India, China, Iran, Germany, France, Spain)
- Jag har inte koll på nationaliteterna - jag har inte diskuterat det med studenterna.» ()
- Sweden, China» (Sweden, India, China, Other Southeast Asian, Other European)
- swedish french» (Sweden, China, France)
- Stor spridning av nationaliteter» (Sweden, Germany)
- Sweden, other European (German, French), Taiwan, ...» (Sweden, Germany)
- Sverige (15 stud), Indonesien (2 stud)» (Sweden)
- 2nd most common is a balance between Asian and other European (often even Nordic).» (Sweden, Other European)
- eastern Europe large groups» (Sweden, China, Germany, Other European, Africa)
- a mix of West European nationalities, none dominant.» (Sweden, Other)
- Sorry, I"m not aware of the nationalities of my students.» (Sweden)
- Mix of nationalities each year, this year 2 from Germany and several other foreign students from different countries, i.e. not a trend with German students specifically,.» (Sweden, Germany)
- Sweden (sure) and India (I think), France and Germany were other candidates. There was something like 10 nationalities for 33 students. » (Sweden, India)
- Russia» (Sweden, Germany)
- Sweden, Germany» (Sweden, India, China, Germany, France, Other European, The Middle East)
- Sweden and Greece» (Sweden, India, China, Spain, Other European)
- Sweden, Germany» (Sweden, Germany)
- sweden, china» (Sweden, China, Germany, France)
- The majority of all students we have had in the programme so far have been ethnic Swedes, but a few have been of Persian descent. » (Sweden, Iran)
- Sweden, Germany» (Sweden, China, Germany)
- Most from Sweden. Some exchange students (including 2 each from France and Italy).» (Sweden, France, Other European)

5. The students in my classroom choose to sit with students of their own ethnic/cultural/national background

Agree strongly»		5		2%
Agree»		73		41%
Neutral»		51		28%
Disagree»		30		16%
Disagree strongly»		8		4%
Don"t know»		11		6%

Genomsnitt: 2.97

- too many students in the class room to be sure» (?)
- I assign student student to teams so they sit with there team members. Theses teams are as diverse as possible in terms of nationality, gender, masters program.» (?)
- most of the students work with "similar" students, but certainly not all of them» (Agree)
- This goes down to the level of Chalmers - GU students sitting apart for a bigger part of the course. » (Agree)
- my class is taken by students from two diffrent master programmes, one is very good at integrating foreign students the other one rather poor» (Agree)
- I see that and therefor mix the studnets when doing group assignment or group discussions. » (Agree)
- Very small class, but the two French were sitting together...» (Agree)
- Not enough students of each nationality to see such an effect.» (Neutral)
- Some of the first-year students do. The second-year students mix it up» (Neutral)
- Again, the question is too black-and-white.Some some students are very active in making new friends and others keep to their own nationalities. » (Neutral)
- I try to explain this with two examples. Example 1. If there are 3 Swedish students and 3 Chinese students, then I agree with statement 5. Example 2. Let us say that there are 3 Swedish students, 1 Chinese student, 1 Spanish student, 1 American student, then students tend to create a more mixed and compact class. Of course, it also depends on the personal attitudes of the students. Sometimes there are one or two students that are kind of "social attractors" with beneficial effect on the class, despite any cultural/ethnic/national background. » (Neutral)
- I have not thought about it.» (Neutral)
- Some do some don"t» (Neutral)
- Some do, some do not. I would say it is equally important which program they are coming from. We had students from 4 master programs and erasmus. Erasmus students may possibly look more for similar national background.» (Neutral)
- if they are from the same university, they often sit together» (Neutral)
- The class is so small there is little choice.» (Disagree)
- only the Chineese » (Disagree)
- it varies some sit nationally - others sit project group wise - others again sit with people from the program» (Disagree)
- our master programme tries with a kick-off day to get to know all students - after this the group is rather tight as a full group. » (Disagree)
- Small group, we mix them throughout the course» (Disagree strongly)

6. I think it is important that students work with students from other countries in the classroom

Agree strongly»		75		41%
Agree»		68		37%
Neutral»		35		19%
Disagree»		3		1%
Disagree strongly»		1		0%
Don"t know»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.82

- It depends on the objective. For high impact in learning the subject you get better results when students are familiar with their co-workers attitudes, culture etc. If the learning objective also includes group work dynamics, teamwork etc. then it is an advantage with mixed cultures since this often accentuates the difficulties/challenges to cooperate. » (?)
- This is one of the advantages for our students! » (Agree strongly)
- i teach management of (global) sustainability - the nature of the topic therefore requires an internationality perspective» (Agree strongly)
- I have tried to address this in my 2 courses by assigning random project groups» (Agree)
- More generally, I think it is important that students practice collaborating with students they did not choose themselves (regardless of nationality).» (Agree)
- Framförallt svenskar för sig och internationella studenter för sig» (Agree)
- With the numbers we have it is almost unavoidable.» (Agree)
- The students are not asked to do any group work during my lectures. For labs they sign up in PingPong.» (Neutral)
- I agree to that there should be no obstacles or reasons not to, but it is not something I feel need to be further encouraged» (Neutral)
- I think they should feel comfortable to work in multi-cultural. So, I would not say "important".» (Neutral)
- While the course includes training in communication, the focus is not intercultural communication.» (Disagree)
- I do not have a strong opinion about this, not really my business» (Disagree)

7. As a teacher, I actively encourage students to interact with students from other countries in the class

Agree strongly»		49		26%
Agree»		44		24%
Neutral»		60		32%
Disagree»		19		10%
Disagree strongly»		10		5%

Genomsnitt: 2.43

- I make up groups and mix, there should not be a choice as there is no one in working life either» (Agree strongly)
- to discuss multi-national issues in sustainability, it is good to have students from different backgrounds» (Agree strongly)
- in most projects we request this from the students» (Agree strongly)
- Half the course is a project. Once in four years I accepted a fully Swedish group and I do not think I will do it again. » (Agree strongly)
- I encourage interaction strongly, it being intercultural is a byproduct.» (Agree)
- I strongly encourage the students to interact and work together, but not with a particular emphasise on origin (country, culture etc). » (Agree)
- I do encourage them, when they have labs, project work etc to form groups that are "international2 to broaden the views and take advantage of each other.» (Agree)
- In the way that I stipulate pairs to work with assigments and then I deliberately mix. I try to mix Western with None-Western.» (Agree)
- Because they have different backgrounds and therefore know different things. » (Agree)
- By the time of the course they have already formed their relations and choose to team up with their friend» (Neutral)
- But is planned for next course: students will be assigned work groups.» (Neutral)
- Most of my students work alone. I believe they feel they learn best that way.» (Neutral)
- I let the random project group function take care of that, but I bring up international work situations a lot» (Neutral)
- Jag har inte gjort någom uppmuntran» (Neutral)
- I am not in that rôle. Otherwise I wound encourage foreign students to work with Swedish ones, and vice versa.» (Neutral)
- my study group compositions are randomly decided.» (Neutral)
- Since we have not yet had multiple students with non-Swedish ethnicity at the same time there has not been a need to address this kind of scenario. However if we had I would likely encourage the students to create “,mixed”, groups.» (Neutral)
- I have only encluraged them to work together, but have not involved with their choices» (Disagree)
- I try to mix up groups in various activities, but these are adults and we cannot force them to sit with people they do not choose to.» (Disagree)
- I don"t tell students who they should interact with.» (Disagree)
- I don"t say anything about who the students should work with.» (Disagree strongly)
- I don"t consider this at all. Should I answer Neutral (neither encourage nor dicourage) or Disagree (discourage) completely (my interpretations in parenthesis). This may be a wrong interpretation but the question is ill-posed» (Disagree strongly)
- This is not on the agenda.» (Disagree strongly)

8. If you wrote "Agree strongly" or "Agree" for question 7 then please provide some examples of how you encourage students to work with students from other countries

9. As a teacher, I actively encourage discussions on different cultural perspectives

Agree strongly»		20		11%
Agree»		33		18%
Neutral»		77		42%
Disagree»		32		17%
Disagree strongly»		18		10%

Genomsnitt: 2.97 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- We do things different in different countries, not by law but by culture... the students must be aware of that.» (Agree strongly)
- I asked them about transport situation in their belonging countries» (Agree strongly)
- students representing different nationalities present small lectures about architectural heritage in their homecountry» (Agree strongly)
- contiunous improvment efforts require these discussions» (Agree strongly)
- Cross-cultural xxx is a specific team in the course. Cultural differences is taught and debated. » (Agree strongly)
- I try encourage the students to bring in their cultural perspective to illustrate the differences or perspectives on questions discussed. This is great in Management in particular.» (Agree strongly)
- As mentioned, I bring up international work situations a lot, particularly when describing work laws, stakeholders, business ethics and sustainable development» (Agree strongly)
- strong focus in our courses on culture, working in and with different cultures etc.» (Agree strongly)
- I also encourage discussions on "false" cultural differences (over-stereotyping)» (Agree)
- We encourage studnets to include aspects like differences in treatment of waste in different countries. Waste Management is a subject that invites to comparisons between countries.» (Agree)
- Part of the course deals with socio-technical systems where cultural aspects can be important.» (Agree)
- this is part of the multinational corporations reality where many of them will receive employment in the future, as much as it is a reality of consumption and production systems, in which they will navigate in their professional roles» (Agree)
- Both regarding taking a global perspective, but also raisinig awareness of what assumptions regarding a immediate context (regional, Swedish) are used, and asking students to reflect upon these. » (Agree)
- would like to it to a greater extent» (Neutral)
- The coourse is about technique so we do not have time to cover this issue.» (Neutral)
- We encourage active participation from all students, from all different perspectives. Define "cultural" please. Do you mean national?» (Neutral)
- Det blir lätt krystat om det inte hör ihop med kursens innehåll» (Neutral)
- The course does not include material that can easily be discussed from a cultural perspective.Cultural perspectives might come in regarding how the technology is applied, but the main part of the course is about the technology itself and that does not depend on culture. Mathematics is a universal language.» (Neutral)
- I sometimes make comments on how vehicle safety systems can work differently in different part of the world.» (Neutral)
- we discuss science, not culture» (Neutral)
- Cultural perspectives are not particularly relevant to the subject I am teaching.» (Neutral)
- I actively encourage discussion about the learning outcomes of the course. » (Neutral)
- Only to some extent relevant to the subject taught. » (Neutral)
- Ingår till någon mån (dock inte så mycket) i uppgifterna» (Neutral)
- Only if it is important in the context of the topic.» (Neutral)
- I sometimes ask the students for real-life examples from their home countries, but that is not really cultural perspectives, is it?» (Neutral)
- I teach organic chemistry, not so relevant for this course, but I would agree if it concerned another subject where this question would be more relevant.» (Neutral)
- cultural perspectives are not part of my curriculum» (Neutral)
- When appropriate in the context.» (Neutral)
- As my subject is quite theoreticl, culture is not a relevant issue» (Disagree)
- I find it hard to identify cultural perspectives on the subject of the course in question » (Disagree)
- Hard to connect such discussions and the topic(s) of the course(s)» (Disagree)
- I encourage discussions on the subject of the course, but bringing students from different background to work with each other definitely also leads to discussions on different cultural perspectives» (Disagree)
- This is completely irrelevant for my course» (Disagree)
- As a teacher I focus on the course content» (Disagree)
- My topic is within astronomy and cultural perspectives do not become relevant in the topics covered. » (Disagree)
- I do not see how different cultural perspectives come into a course on discrete event control and optimization» (Disagree)
- I don"t actively do anything: I teach my course but don"t have time to discuss such matters. » (Disagree)
- not really relevant to my courses» (Disagree)
- I teach engineering...» (Disagree)
- The course is basic science. Discussions of cultural perspectives never seem relevant. » (Disagree)
- We work based on facts as far as possible - can there be cultural discourse on 1+1 = 2?» (Disagree strongly)
- Cultural perspectives don"t come up in my course at all.» (Disagree strongly)
- It would be a completely wrong focus in the class.» (Disagree strongly)
- I am not aware of any different cultural aspects on the course material that could be discussed.» (Disagree strongly)
- I teach a very advanced subject. No time to tell the students to interact with other students. Cultural aspects is not relevant for the subject.» (Disagree strongly)
- I don"t think there any important cultural differences in perspectives on my subject. Certainly, in all the many encounters I"ve had with people in the field from around the world, I"ve not noticed cultural differences.» (Disagree strongly)
- The course is purely technical and partly multidisiplinary. I strongly encourage groups with students from different disiplins.» (Disagree strongly)

10. Students should select their own groups when doing groupwork

Agree strongly»		16		8%
Agree»		52		28%
Neutral»		55		30%
Disagree»		38		21%
Disagree strongly»		19		10%

Genomsnitt: 2.95 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- See comment 7. I do not force them into a specific group, but encourage them to be more "international". Forcing them I do not think is good and you can get good results by being encouraging.» (?)
- See my comments above. In my course I allow them to form groups.» (?)
- since the have other courses and the lab is 3 half-days they need to be able to select the time for the lab excercise themselves» (Agree strongly)
- What is meant by "should" here? I interpret it as it is supposed to happen in my courses. » (Agree strongly)
- This is a practical issue, since students in my courses come from several programmes and hence have very different schedules. » (Agree)
- We should give them conditions/possibilities to interact not direct them to interact» (Agree)
- For biggest part, I think the students should select their own groups. We have such a smaller number of students that they will have to interact with each other anyway. We do group them when having particular exercises requiring a collaborative effort, but we pay attention to other aspects than culture (rather emphasising a mix of expertise and knowledge). » (Agree)
- If there were large groups from one country and they only worked with each other my answer might be different, depending on if there consistently from year to year were large differences between results from groups of different nationalities or not, but in general we don"t have these groups so I have not seen any such tendencies. » (Agree)
- not always, but shouldn"t be forced never to choose» (Agree)
- When doing labs they select. When doing group sessions we assign them.» (Agree)
- Because the group work is very much directed toward actual research projects I think it solves itself, they are usually picking the topic not the group members, in my experience. » (Agree)
- Yes, but with certain guidelines to have diversity in the teams.» (Agree)
- My formal requirement is to have some students from our master program in each group, but that"s mostly to assure there is reasonable competence in each group and has not so much to do with culture. » (Agree)
- My course did not involve groupwork» (Agree)
- I think assigned groups are to often preferalbe» (Neutral)
- for some seminars I select for other let them select » (Neutral)
- it should be a balance» (Neutral)
- We use both optional and compulsory groups» (Neutral)
- I have tried both but haven"t made up my mind on what I like the most.» (Neutral)
- Sometimes it is good that students select their own groups, sometimes it is good that groups are chosen by the teachers or external persons. In both cases there is always something to learn... » (Neutral)
- sometimes yes, sometimes no» (Neutral)
- I see both benefits and drawbacks. Benefits that they can find someone with the same level of ambition. The drawback is that they need to learn to collaborate with different individuals with different knowledge, background etc.» (Neutral)
- there can be a combination: we have a number of criteria (different gender, different program backgrounds, different nationalities) that we require of the groups - the need for some student autonomy is necessary because they are juggling schedules from different programs» (Neutral)
- I see both being functional but the randomly assigned groups need more support to function. I have addressed this using internal team member feedback as a formalized hand-in. » (Neutral)
- I believe that in some course assignments it is good the teachers form the groups in order to have mixed groups, in some assignments, the students form the groups» (Neutral)
- depends on the project» (Neutral)
- Sometimes yes, other times no. » (Neutral)
- A question where there is no simple (or single) answer. We (the teachers in our Master"s program) have discussed this and have a solution where some courses "hand out" the groups whereas in other courses the students can handle it themselves. So, a mix.» (Neutral)
- I did mix last year and no-one complained. So I will probably continue mixing. But neutral, since I am not very convinced about mixing or not mixing. Not yet, maybe I have a clear picture in 1-2 years.» (Neutral)
- Depends what you want to train. Different courses should have different modes of operating. » (Neutral)
- depends on context and purpose of groupwork» (Neutral)
- It depends on the work to be done. » (Neutral)
- i assign them randomly, but if people ask for specific compositions, i allow it, unless there is a pedagogical reason against it. Often groups need » (Neutral)
- Depends on the course, most often it is best to be assigned a team and then get support for how to also adress the process dimension of the work and how that relates to the results.» (Neutral)
- This is how we had done it so far, but I have considered the option to actively decide groups myself. » (Neutral)
- Benefical for them to select group as they attend other courses, facilates coordination within the group. Negative in a sense that they choose to work with people they already know. » (Neutral)
- I"ve tried both forcing bicultural pairs and free pairing, and found free pairing least problematic. Both have pros and cons.» (Neutral)
- Does one choose whom to work with in industry? No, so why should we do it in academia (irrespectively of cultural differences)?» (Disagree)
- We assign groups, always. It is a simple, yet effective way to encourage the culture mix, and more importantly to make sure that the foreign students get to know some of the Swedes. It can be a lonely expedition to move to another country, climate, academic environment, etc. I consider this an individual support rather than a cultural issue.» (Disagree)
- Then it is hard to influence the necessary "mix" of Swedish and foreign students in the groups» (Disagree)
- Though students sometimes complain about being placed in different groupings - more to do with some people being known for not pulling their weight.» (Disagree)
- Teachers decide on the groups, but we have had complaints about ambition levels (especially concerning Erasmus students). We are now planning to let students choose but include rules that each group should have at least 2 international students.» (Disagree)
- There is no group work in my course» (Disagree)
- They tend to choose other students they already know. The fact that I have put together the groups has been considered a positive thing among students. » (Disagree)
- I have it as a principle. Then I don"t have to intervene. It serves many other purposes as well. I don"t want the students to work with the same partners course after course. Also good to mix masterprograms, sex, age etc.» (Disagree)
- See comments above, I prefer to stimulate them to work with different students but they have to agree/be motivated, otherwise it will not work» (Disagree)
- After University they do not choose their colleagues at work - so they have to be prepared. However, they can always "quit" a job - we have to provide them possibility to change the group if it is not functioning or someone does not perform.» (Disagree)
- For our course we need a good mix of engineers and architects, independent from the nationality. Competences matters first.» (Disagree)
- Oftast väljer kursledningen» (Disagree)
- Depends on the task. They should be blended and occasionally throughout the program, it"s ok for them to select themselves but this won"t be the case in their working life and they should be prepared for that.» (Disagree)
- I have been letting them do this but realized lately that it should probably not be like that.» (Disagree)
- See above» (Disagree strongly)
- If students chose on their own, they will mostly work with friends that they know from before. Throughout the courses in our "subject track" in the programme we force them to work in mixed group that are new combinations of students in each course» (Disagree strongly)
- I have an introductory course on the master program. We make a point of randomly assign them into different groups. Our ideal is that everyone should have worked with anyone. Self selection would likely lead to homophilic/biased group constructions.» (Disagree strongly)
- Random works well with the arguement - later at work you do not choose» (Disagree strongly)
- A mix is good, soometimes the teachers shuold seelct group memebers and sometimes you can leet the students do that» (Disagree strongly)
- For one thing, we form the lab and project groups so that they become multi-national.» (Disagree strongly)
- There are scheduling problems but master course scheduling is a mess anyway...» (Disagree strongly)

11. The Master"s programme I am involved with organises activities for students on the programme to get to know each other

Yes, a lot»		19		10%
Yes, some»		85		46%
No»		20		10%
Don"t know»		59		32%

Genomsnitt: 2.65 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- we have a working area for the MP» (Yes, a lot)
- The MPPEN master"s programme has arranged a "student club" and alumni events to connect students across "alumni generations" and nationalities.» (Yes, a lot)
- 2-3 times, if that is a lot. » (Yes, a lot)
- There are several masters programmes that take my course, I am sure some have activities but perhaps not all» (Yes, some)
- Very few as the students are very few.» (Yes, some)
- i know something is done, but it seems quite limited to me» (Yes, some)
- The students arrange this themselves mostly» (Yes, some)
- For instance introduction week.» (Yes, some)
- Jag tror det ordnas en gemensam middag för sudenterna alldeles i början av programmet» (Yes, some)
- We have an orientation the first day, but no type of extracurricular activities.» (Yes, some)
- Very unfortunate and sad in my opinion not to have such activities.» (No)
- Mainly because we have a dominating Swedish group with students that already know each other.» (No)
- the program is large - 80 students!» (No)
- As written above, I"m involved in several programmes. » (Don"t know)
- The course Waste management is offered to all master programs. However, we organise 2 study visits and that is a situation when the students interact outside lectures.» (Don"t know)
- Studenter från många program - elective» (Don"t know)
- I know that this was the case in the past. » (Don"t know)

12. If you wrote "Yes, a lot" or "Yes, some" to the previous question, please provide some examples of such activities

13. It is important to discuss intercultural issues in the classroom

Agree strongly»		14		7%
Agree»		52		28%
Neutral»		67		36%
Disagree»		32		17%
Disagree strongly»		9		4%
Don"t know»		9		4%

Genomsnitt: 2.98 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- It feels like it"s easy to misrepresent things here - the students do end up with "my version" of cultural events when I tell them about it. » (Agree strongly)
- yes our students will work in an international environment this is an important topic which is central to our master programme» (Agree strongly)
- "The classroom"... somebody"s classroom, yes. Mine isn"t designed for it.» (Agree)
- When it comes to cooperation between students, yes. When it comes to the subject for the course, in my case: no. » (Agree)
- To some extent, particularly matters connected to how we work as engineers within our field in Sweden and other parts of the world.» (Agree)
- intercultural yes, but religious no» (Agree)
- » (Agree)
- to some extent, but should not be over discussed because culture is not a stable construct - it"s a dynamic phenomenon that is difficult to pinpoint» (Agree)
- well, when appropriate» (Agree)
- Once again, this is imprtant to discuss. Also, intercultural competence is an important soft skill just as leadership etc. However, I do not think that my course is the right place, as I teach engineering.» (Agree)
- It may be tricky trying not to expose some international students negatively, so normally I try not to talk too much about cultural differences.» (Neutral)
- just on a lectured subject level» (Neutral)
- Not always appropriate to the topic at hand » (Neutral)
- We have some specific classes specifically targeting intercultural communication. And at times we need to mediate some group conflict with intercultural signs. However, it is also important not to discuss intercultural issues too much in the course, as it is a course in entrepreneurship.» (Neutral)
- I think it is important to discuss it if it relevant to the course, and also if it appears to be causing problems during the teaching/learning. For example, during some previous years, I have been aware that some foreign students come from different traditions of teaching and therefore have different expectations for the teacher. » (Neutral)
- For some courses yes, for others, no. This depends entirely on the course contents. Courses based on mathematics do not really lend themselves to cultural discussions.» (Neutral)
- If a problem arises in the classroom because of differences in cultures, then it is fundamental to discuss it and find a solution.» (Neutral)
- If there are cultural issues among the students then we should certainly deal with them but I don"t think talking about intercultural issues in a technical course just for the sake of it is fruitful.» (Neutral)
- Only when issues = problems. » (Neutral)
- Cultural perspectives are not particularly relevant to the subject I am teaching.» (Neutral)
- Beror på kursens innehåll. Det är viktigt att göra om kulturella skillnader stör arbetet. Störs inte arbetet så beror det på ämnet.» (Neutral)
- If it is a social or humantarian course. Not i a very advanced science course. Unless chalmers pay for it and add it to all courses. Currently all courses cost! e.i research fundings are used since not even our time giving lectures id paid for.» (Neutral)
- Sometimes it can be good to take up intercultural issues if it fits to the topic and/or resolves probelms and/or facilitates work in small groups, etc.» (Neutral)
- Depends much on subject being taught.» (Neutral)
- not in my field» (Neutral)
- This question is not correctly phrased. Please indicate if you mean during formal teaching time or during breaks and more free form activities,» (Neutral)
- I think it is very important, but if it is done in an unprofessional way this can do more harm than good and just add to stereotyping for example. If everyone is supposed to do it I would choose the choice "strongly disagree"» (Neutral)
- I find it difficult to do this in a natural way that becomes well integrated in the course.» (Neutral)
- Teachers are responsible to teach their course and ensure the quality of education. Intercultural issues do not belong to the subject of the course» (Disagree)
- Not if it is not related to the subject of the course or influence the work of the students.» (Disagree)
- If we are going to discuss differences - we indicate the problem. Better we deal with that without putting it in front so much» (Disagree)
- Could be, but not in general» (Disagree)
- only if this becomes an issue or problem» (Disagree)
- Which issues?» (Disagree)
- The topic of my discipline is very far away from such discussions.» (Disagree)
- If this is relevant for the learning goals. Not otherwise, so long as there is no obvious "problem" with intercultural issues in the classroom.» (Disagree)
- If this is not part of the learning objective of the course.» (Disagree)
- I haven"t found any need to do so, on this course.» (Disagree)
- I comment that we have different views on plagiarism in the begining when I present requirements on the report. Othervise I do not think it is relevant in the course. Possibly in programs but if they should cover every subject there would not be much left for content. » (Disagree)
- I do not want to use the very limited classroom time to educate adults how to behave towards other people.» (Disagree strongly)
- Which classroom are we talking about? It is really good for everyone to know about intercultural issues, but the same argument goes for so many other things. I strongly believe that Chalmers should focus on teaching the students the topics that are unique to Chalmers. Intercultural issues is not one of them.» (Disagree strongly)
- Not in the classroom, but after classroom is recommended.» (Disagree strongly)
- In my course, no. » (Disagree strongly)
- I don"t see how I can fit this in. Having worked at different places around the world, I don"t know of any place that explicitly addresses this in a technical course. » (Don"t know)
- I don"t know but since we have a majority of non-Swedish students there will always be discussions related to from where students are (i.e. what background they have). Important, I don"t know, but it is a part of the program.» (Don"t know)
- Never felt the need» (Don"t know)
- I don"t know what that is and how that would affect the topic of my course. I sometimes give examples of how the methodology that I teach is used in different countries, if that counts?» (Don"t know)

14. I feel like I have the tools to discuss intercultural communication in the classroom

Agree strongly»		9		4%
Agree»		38		20%
Neutral»		67		36%
Disagree»		39		21%
Disagree strongly»		8		4%
Don"t know»		21		11%

Genomsnitt: 3.34 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- Tools? Isn"t that something that has to be integrated in assignments and ways of addressing questions?» (?)
- But I think Chalmers has a huge problem with its massive internal recruitment and sever lack of international experience among the staff.» (Agree strongly)
- I give lectures on the topic and we have activities and exercises connected to the theory.» (Agree strongly)
- I have no training, only experience.» (Agree)
- Intercultural issues was a part of my dissertation thesis, so I am fairly familiar with the topic » (Agree)
- Could always be better» (Agree)
- Some, but could be extended. » (Agree)
- Sometimes I feel that my own experiences and cases I"ve read about are enough, but sometimes I wish I had more examples. » (Agree)
- Natural part of course» (Agree)
- What do you mean by "intercultural communication"? The subject we are teaching is Waste Management, not Communication as such. We can talk about different ways to treat waste but not about how a Swede should communicate with a Chinese or something like that. Also, we cannot discuss the differences in attitudes to lecturers that students from different countries have. It would be rude. What we are doing is observe, learn and understand. We also talk about these issues in the teacher group.» (Neutral)
- I have personally an international and large multicultural experience» (Neutral)
- You will never have all knowledge about all aspects of all cultures, rather some knowledge about some aspects of some cultures. This could be enough to lead a discussion, but not to give all answers.» (Neutral)
- Yes, I have one tool, my tongue» (Neutral)
- » (Neutral)
- I have myself if needed for such communication, need no other tool.» (Neutral)
- It depends. It is certainly possible to open for reflection regarding cultural issues, but enable discussion about general cultural norms, preferences/prejudices, etc. can be quite challenging - as there is both evidence regarding these, while at the same time, they are subjective, and also often in stages of change. » (Neutral)
- I do not have many tools, but I do not feel I miss any.» (Neutral)
- I could use more suppport in this» (Disagree)
- See my comment on 13.» (Disagree)
- Most of my knowledge and tools come from my own experience. It would be good to get more formal insight in these issues.» (Disagree)
- It is solely up to me as a teacher to address these issues in my way, based on my experience and knowledge, no professional competence within the area. » (Disagree)
- I don"t think this is the place to discuss this. Social activities and dedicated workshops are much more appropriate. » (Don"t know)
- It is not on the agenda.» (Don"t know)
- unclear what is meant by the tools. » (Don"t know)
- What is intercultural communication?» (Don"t know)
Genomsnitt totalt för detta stycke: 2.97

Personal and academic profile

15. What is your gender?

Female»		42		23%
Male»		136		75%
No comment»		3		1%

Genomsnitt: 1.78 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

16. What age group are you?

20-30»		0		0%
31-40»		44		24%
41-50»		74		40%
51-60»		47		25%
60+»		14		7%
No comment»		3		1%

Genomsnitt: 3.21 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

17. What is your nationality?

18. What is your position at Chalmers?

182 svarande

PhD student (doktorand)»		0		0%
Lecturer (adjunkt/tekniklektor)»		5		2%
Senior lecturer (lektor)»		17		9%
Associate professor (docent)»		58		31%
Professor»		72		39%
Programme coordinator (programansvarig)»		3		1%
Course coordinator/examiner (kursansvarig/examinator)»		15		8%
Other»		12		6%

Genomsnitt: 4.79 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- Assistant Professor» (?)
- lärare o PA (all who are PA are also researchers or lecturer» (Lecturer (adjunkt/tekniklektor))
- (Multiple choices were not possible) Senior lecturer+examiner» (Senior lecturer (lektor))
- And MPA» (Senior lecturer (lektor))
- Kursansvarig/examinato» (Senior lecturer (lektor))
- And examiner. Couldn"t choose more than one option, despite the instructions. » (Associate professor (docent))
- I have previously been programme director (as it is called now - previously it was called programme coordinator)» (Associate professor (docent))
- I have several roles, but can only fill in one.» (Associate professor (docent))
- I am also master programme director for the master in which my course is involved,» (Associate professor (docent))
- Only one answer could be given. I am also course coordinator and examiner.» (Associate professor (docent))
- One cannot chose more than one answer! I am also course coordinator and examiner for 2 courses.» (Professor)
- It was NOT possible to provide more than one answer. "Course coordinator" is the second one.» (Professor)
- No, only one answer can be given. I am also an MPA and examinator.» (Professor)
- Not more than one answer could be chosen. I am also program coordinator and course examiner» (Professor)
- Tried do give two answer but was not successful. I wanted to add course coordinator/examiner.» (Professor)
- I am: Professor, Examiner, "Course coordinator" and "Head of division". You write "More than one answer can be chosen." but that is not actually true.» (Professor)
- More than one answer can NOT be chosen. I am the examiner of the course» (Professor)
- And examiner - I could not mark two» (Professor)
- Examiner and/or teacher» (Professor)
- Professor, programme coordinator and examiner » (Professor)
- Course lecturer and examiner for two master"s courses.» (Professor)
- The list does not allow for more answers but: Im MPA, examiner, senior lecturer» (Programme coordinator (programansvarig))
- Assistant Professor, MPA, course examinator» (Programme coordinator (programansvarig))
- How come Assistant professor is not included (me)? Only one answer could be chosen despite what is written in the text» (Course coordinator/examiner (kursansvarig/examinator))
- Assistant professor - course examiner is not a position :/ This is beside the point but I am surprised that this is not an option when we are quite frequently responsible as course examiners...» (Course coordinator/examiner (kursansvarig/examinator))
- Examinator i 3 kurser, och biträdande professor.» (Course coordinator/examiner (kursansvarig/examinator))
- Associate Professor (Forskarassistent)» (Other)
- researher, post doc» (Other)
- Forskarassistent.» (Other)
- Assistant Professor» (Other)
- Forskarassistent» (Other)
- Former assistant professor, at the moment temporary position as "researcher"» (Other)
- Assistant professor» (Other)
- PhD now a position as Post Doc researcher which includes teaching. » (Other)

19. How long have you been teaching?

Less than 1 year»		2		1%
Less than 5 years»		16		8%
5-10 years»		41		22%
11-15 years»		39		21%
More than 15 years»		85		46%

Genomsnitt: 4.03 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- 5 years as a PhD student and 4 as assistant prof» (5-10 years)
- First about 7 years as PhD student and FoAss, before 2000. Then 4 years at present emplyment, whcih started 2011 (after 10 years in industry). » (5-10 years)
- 27 years.» (More than 15 years)

20. Do you have teaching experience from other countries apart from Sweden?

Yes, more than 5 years»		24		13%
Yes, between 1-5 years»		38		20%
Yes, less than 1 year»		14		7%
Yes, less than 2 months»		28		15%
No»		77		42%

Genomsnitt: 3.53 (bidrar till totalt genomsnitt/jämförelseindex)

- Yes - from many countries and over a long period of time - but I don"t understand what the years refer to in this question. If it means: Have you had a job outside of Sweden as a teacher - for how long time? This question seems to at least partly be irrelevant.» (?)
- Nordic countries and Africa» (Yes, more than 5 years)
- switzerland and denmark» (Yes, more than 5 years)
- Did my postdoctoral training abroad, lots of teaching in various countries in Europe, usually much more diverse groups than at Chalmers.» (Yes, more than 5 years)
- Full time university position in the UK, plus of course summer schools and the like in many countries.» (Yes, more than 5 years)
- Germany» (Yes, between 1-5 years)
- I have taught in Belgium, USA, and Singapore.» (Yes, between 1-5 years)
- I was teaching in Romania and I am also a visiting fellow teacher in UK.» (Yes, between 1-5 years)
- But only lab TA teaching while a graduate student in Toronto.» (Yes, between 1-5 years)
- Germany» (Yes, between 1-5 years)
- Canada» (Yes, between 1-5 years)
- Strange question, the broader teaching exchange programs, as Erasmus, are typically built around shorter visits, they can be several.» (Yes, less than 1 year)
- Also industrial based » (Yes, less than 1 year)
- Not much, but I was supervisor for a master thesis when I was a post-doc in the UK» (Yes, less than 1 year)
- yes - as a guest lecturer in other Nordic countries.» (Yes, less than 1 year)
- I have taught one graduate course at one of the top universities in USA. » (Yes, less than 1 year)
- Enstaka föreläsning» (Yes, less than 2 months)
- I have been teaching at a Masters course in Mozambique» (Yes, less than 2 months)
- A number of teaching assignments in master programs but not in total a lot of time.» (Yes, less than 2 months)
- France» (Yes, less than 2 months)
- Not other than guest workshops etc» (No)
- Guest lectures and workshops in several countries but not more than for a couple of days in each case.» (No)
- Just a few guest lectures.» (No)
- I"ve been involved in quite some MSc theses with non-Swedish universities. So I kind of recognise some different ways of assessing such.» (No)
- postdoc experience, but no teaching.» (No)
- I studied abroad for a year.» (No)
- You need to ask also about language skills an international experience otherwise this questionnaire will be mostly useless! People who have never immigrated and have spent all their life at Chalmers simply have no idea about what it is to move to a different part of the world and what challenges you phase. It has been plainly show by Chalmers naive attitude towards English language use (this questionnaire is just one example!) and skills and lack of clear goals for both incoming student and Chalmers"s students studying abroad.» (No)
Genomsnitt totalt för detta stycke: 3.47

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