Call for Applications:
ENGAGE.EU Workshop “Culture, Communication, and Collaboration in COIL”
Abstract submission deadline: 17 July 2026 at 12pm CET (noon)
Notification of acceptance: 31 August 2026
Workshop dates: 5-6 November 2026
Location: Toulouse Capitole University, France
Format: hybrid workshop (in-person and online participation accepted)
Lecturers, researchers and practitioners are invited to submit contributions for the ENGAGE.EU workshop “Culture, Communication, and Collaboration in COIL”, taking place from 5 to 6 November 2026 at Toulouse Capitole University (Toulouse, France).
Call for Applications
Presentation and objectives of the workshop
The workshop “Culture, Communication, and Collaboration in COIL” will take place from 5 to 6 November 2026 at Toulouse Capitole University (Toulouse, France). It is supported through ENGAGE.EU Research Label Seed Funding and led by a team of researchers from Toulouse Capitole University, Blanquerna – Ramon Llull University, Hanken School of Economics and the University of Mannheim.
The workshop will be tailored for lecturers, practitioners and researchers with experience in organising COIL exchanges. COIL — Collaborative Online International Learning — refers to structured online collaboration between students and lecturers from different institutional and cultural contexts, usually embedded within existing courses. In this workshop, we are particularly interested in how such collaborations move beyond international contact towards meaningful intercultural learning.
The workshop aims to examine how intercultural digital collaboration shapes COIL design, implementation and evaluation. Building on COIL experiences from 2025 and 2026, it will explore how lecturers, practitioners and researchers prepare students for intercultural collaboration, manage communication challenges, and transform online international collaboration into meaningful intercultural learning. The workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to share experiences, discuss challenges, receive feedback from colleagues and identify future avenues for COIL research and practice.
Structure of the workshop
The workshop will include thematic sessions with paper and poster presentations, a keynote address and two panel discussions, with the possibility of either in-person or online participation. The panel discussions will focus on:
- Designing and supporting COIL: institutional, administrative and organisational challenges;
- Teaching and learning across cultures: pedagogical, communicative and intercultural challenges.
1. Call for paper and poster presentations
Lecturers, researchers and practitioners are invited to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words, excluding references, related to intercultural communication in a COIL setting. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Preparing students for intercultural work;
- Skill development through intercultural exchange;
- Intercultural awareness and COIL;
- Intercultural communication skills in COIL;
- Co-teaching across cultures;
- From international contact to intercultural learning at home;
- Digital and cultural spaces in COIL;
- Assessment and evaluation of intercultural learning in COIL;
- Managing communication breakdowns in COIL collaboration;
- Moving from structure to experience in COIL.
We encourage submissions from a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to higher education studies, European studies, political science, sociology, language education, communication studies and related fields.
Early-stage and early-career researchers, PhD candidates and practitioners affiliated with institutions participating in European University alliances are particularly encouraged to submit. Applicants may consult the European Commission map of European Universities alliances to check institutional affiliation: https://education.ec.europa.eu/education-levels/higher-education/european-universities-initiative/map
2. Call for moderators and speakers
Lecturers, researchers and practitioners interested in moderating (in-person option only) or taking part in one of the two panel sessions (in-person or online) are invited to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words. The abstract should indicate: a) which panel the applicant is interested in; and b) the applicant’s experience and expertise in the topic of the selected panel; and c) whether they plan to participate in-person or online.
3. Individuals interested in workshop attendance only (without contribution submission)
Please note that priority will be given to participants who submit contributions (15 workshop seats available), however, the event is also open to attendees who are not interested in submitting a contribution via the formats presented above.
If you are interested in attendance only, please complete the registration form below by ticking the box “Attendee only”. Then, to bypass the document upload for contributors, please simply upload a blank page of a word document in order to successfully send your registration. For the title of proposal field, please indicate “Attendee only”.
Submission guidelines
- Abstracts should be no more than 300 words, excluding references.
- Abstracts must be submitted in English.
- Abstracts for paper and poster presentations should clearly state:
a) which larger question(s) from the call the presentation will contribute to;
b) a brief outline of the proposed presentation;
c) the role and level of COIL experience of the author(s). - Abstracts for paper and poster presentations should indicate the preferred presentation format: paper or poster presentation, and indicate delivery method (in-person or online).
- Please indicate your current position (PhD researcher, early-stage/early-career researcher, senior researcher, practitioner, other) and affiliation, if any.
- Panel abstracts should indicate the preferred panel and briefly describe the applicant’s relevant experience and expertise.
Important dates
Date | Milestone |
17 July 2026 | Abstract submission deadline |
31 August 2026 | Notification of acceptance |
5–6 November 2026 | Workshop at Toulouse Capitole University |
Submission process
Abstracts should be submitted via the online form (below).
Fees and funding opportunities
Thanks to ENGAGE.EU Research Label Funding, which provides the venue and catering for the event, the workshop “Culture, Communication, and Collaboration in COIL” will be free of charge for all participants.
Participants will be asked to secure their own travel and accommodation funding through their home university, faculty, international office and/or ENGAGE.EU offices, where applicable.
Organisers
- Anthea Chai – Toulouse Capitole University
- Helen Engemann – University of Mannheim
- Myriam Greusard – Toulouse Capitole University
- Anna Michelotti – University of Mannheim
- Anne-Marie O’Connell – Toulouse Capitole University
- Dr Helen Ruiz – Blanquerna – Ramon Llull University
- Dr Carola Wide – Hanken School of Economics
Scientific committee
- Helen Engemann – Junior Professor, University of Mannheim
- Anne-Marie O’Connell – Professor, Toulouse Capitole University
- Dr Helen Ruiz – Lecturer, Blanquerna – Ramon Llull University
- Dr Carola Wide – Lecturer, Hanken School of Economics
- Anna Michelotti – Doctoral Student, University of Mannheim
We look forward to receiving your submissions and welcoming you to Toulouse!