This study examines how An-Najah National University (ANNU)  and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) collaboratively reframe North-South academic partnerships through the From Palestine to the Netherlands: Global Challenges, Local Voices Virtual Exchange (VE) course. It explores how the intentional course design supported the development of global citizenship and intercultural competencies by enabling students from disparate sociopolitical contexts to engage on equal footing through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A key factor in cultivating these competencies was the equitable partnership and co-creation of curriculum, which positioned ANNU as a primary decision-maker and included targeted interventions to address structural power asymmetries rather than masking them. Through case study analysis, key informant interviews, and student reflections, this study shows how students developed critical awareness, mutual accountability, and global civic agency by working on community-rooted projects that addressed shared global concerns.

The findings suggest that VE, when designed with a justice-oriented and decolonial lens, can serve not only as a site of intercultural learning but also as a mode of resistance to extractive academic practices, fostering meaningful engagement in a deeply interconnected but inequitable world. In this context, VE emerges not simply as a tool for internationalizing education but as a potentially transformative pedagogical practice that prepares students to navigate and challenge global injustices as ethically grounded, future-ready graduates.

Conference Title

Global Virtual Exchange Summit

Conference Country

Hong Kong

Conference Date

July 8, 2025 - July 9, 2025

Conference Sponsor

Hong Kong Baptist University

Additional Info

Conference Website