"I feel lucky to be a part of it": Humber-VIA study trip inspires belonging, connection and vulnerability

COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) projects aren’t a field trip or a semester abroad. They represent global education for the now: accessible, scalable, and deeply human.

In SPARK 14, faculty and learners from 8 COIL projects share their experiences and show how COIL is one of the most quietly transformative forms of education at Humber Polytechnic.

This COIL initiative is designed to provide an international educational experience for students from Humber Polytechnic and VIA University College. The program connected students from Humber’s Systems Thinking (degree level, elective) course and VIA’s (degree level, required) Design Thinking course, bringing together two timely, unique methods of understanding and tackling complex global issues. 

Faculty leads Elinor Bray-Collins, PhD; Sara Hassan, MA, and Stephen Stockton, PhD, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Humber Polytechnic and Martin Storkholm Nielsen, Design & Business, VIA University College, shared their perspectives on the project.

What motivated you to engage in an international collaboration for this project? How does this align with Humber’s vision of Reimagining Learning?

Elinor Bray-Collins: There are many reasons I’m deeply committed to international collaboration with my students at Humber. Much of it comes from my background—both academic and professional—in critical global development and peacebuilding, especially in divided societies. Since coming to Humber, I’ve tried to bring that experience into the classroom— whether in GNED 101, Sociology of Food, Politics, or Systems Thinking. A critical lens on ourselves and our own country naturally opens up a broader understanding of global power and inequality. These issues are deeply interconnected, and engaging with them critically—with honesty and curiosity—is a big part of how I approach teaching. International and intercultural learning can open up those conversations in a really meaningful way, and being able to do it experientially (through COILs or faculty-led trips) offers something classroom learning often can’t. It allows students to connect with each other, with faculty (and vice versa), and to engage on multiple levels—intellectually, socially, and emotionally. I’ve watched students really “buy in” to learning in these contexts and leave with a renewed sense of their capacity to meaningfully contribute to their communities and build their careers. I feel lucky to be a part of it. 

Stephen Stockton: Implementing systems thinking in my courses has been a really positive experience. It has resulted in a definite shift in the way many of my students approach complex topics, giving them tools to examine multi-variable interactions and feedback loops within environmental systems. I wanted to participate in this trip and see how students in various courses were using these tools. 

In what ways did this experience help students develop future-ready skills for the workforce?

Sara Hassan: Exploring a different set of cultural values, physical environments, social systems and political structures helped students develop future-ready skills necessary for a globalized workforce, namely: Intercultural communications, critical thinking, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the mental models, systems and power structures that shape the lived experiences of people and communities.

Stephen: This trip helped students step out of their own context and see systems in place in a different place and culture. It allowed them to see things from a different point of view and identify and examine some of the mental models that are embedded in the systems they live with.

Can you share a breakthrough moment where students from different backgrounds worked together in a way that surprised you?

Elinor: One of the most beautiful parts of the trip was watching how the students came together as a group. They supported each other on a personal level and, throughout the trip, increasingly stepped in to support us as faculty, too. By the end, the tables had turned — they were as much the facilitators of the trip as we were. There were so many moments of connection and kindness that stayed with me. One moment that really stood out happened during a group conversation on our second-to-last night. A student opened up about their experience navigating their identity, sharing the challenges they face and their feelings. Another student, without hesitation, leaned across the table and offered words of love, kindness, and support. It was a fluid, heartfelt, deeply connected moment.

Sara: The trip was filled with moments of connection between students, where they made space for one another to share their diverse perspectives to make sense of what they were learning. One particular moment that stood out was when we were participating in a tour with a guide from PovertyWalk, an organization that employs people experiencing homelessness to give tours of the city through the lens of their lived experiences. The tour started in a part of town where there was lower-income housing and larger populations of racialized communities. Students began to discuss what this meant—why this area of the city was visibly different from other areas they had seen—and how social policies and power structures interact to create these differences.

What were some of the most significant cultural or logistical challenges your students faced? How did they collaborate and problem-solve to overcome them?

Elinor: Aarhus is an ideal place for a study trip—it’s a small, very walkable city where you can get almost anywhere within 30 minutes on foot. It’s also incredibly safe; it’s completely normal to see parents leave their babies in strollers outside cafés and restaurants. One unexpected challenge was the cost of food — it’s very expensive in Denmark — and the student accommodations didn’t have fridges or kitchen facilities. This meant students spent a lot more on meals than they anticipated, and it was frustrating for them to see food go to waste when they couldn’t store leftovers.

Sara: While not a significant challenge, specific challenges related to travel— whether it be homesickness, anxiety, or need for specific travel items—students self-organized and helped one another meet specific needs. It was lovely to see the community that the VIA and Humber students created for each other, and many remarked how they wouldn’t have met outside of an experience such as this. 

Did you notice any shifts in students’ confidence, adaptability, or leadership skills as they navigated this international experience?

Sara: Absolutely. Travelling itself was a new experience for some and pushed students outside of their comfort zones. Physically travelling to another country—and the immediate change in the sensory inputs—sparked curiosity among students to make sense of their surroundings. This curiously translated into feeling more confident navigating the city, connecting with people they didn’t know, adaptability and flexibility when challenges arose or schedules changed, and a willingness to take on leadership roles within group activities.

Stephen: At every event in which we participated, individual students were asked to step forward and thank our hosts and explain what they had learned from the event. They did so with sincerity and grace. I was impressed with each of them, and almost every student, at one point or another, volunteered to step forward.

If you had to make a case for why global education should be a core part of higher education, what would it be?

Elinor: It would centre on the fundamental reality that we live in an interconnected world. Actions taken in one part of the globe inevitably impact lives elsewhere, often in profound and unseen ways. Without an awareness of these interdependencies, we risk fostering insular, narrow-minded perspectives that prioritize only local or national interests. Such thinking contributes to polarization and hampers our ability to address the complex, systemic challenges of our time. In contrast, cultivating a global outlook—one that recognizes the interwoven nature of social, ecological, and economic systems—enables us to pursue solutions that serve the broader interests of humanity and the planet.

Stephen: As someone who teaches environmental science, I am often looking at ways to reduce air travel and facilitate collaboration in other ways. This trip demonstrated to me that getting students into a new context and immersing them in the critical examination of various complex issues they experience in a new location or culture is an incredibly valuable way to teach and learn. I am convinced that this is one of the best uses for carbon emissions.

Looking ahead, how can international projects such as this shape the future of interdisciplinary learning and global workforce development?

Elinor: Looking ahead, international projects such as the Denmark study trip and COIL can shape the future of interdisciplinary learning not only by building critical competencies but also by fostering the human connections, empathy, and imagination that are urgently needed to address global challenges in ways that are both innovative and humane. This is why, as the trip evolved, we discovered the real themes of the learning from the trip—it was not just the UN SDGs—it was about a sense of belonging and how we, with all of our diverse vulnerabilities, stay in connection. 

Stephen: I think for most of the students who went on this trip, it was an incredibly valuable experience, not something that could be approximated in a classroom.

How did you approach the collaboration with your Humber Faculty partner and the Humber students? How did they approach collaboration differently?

Martin Storkholm Nielsen: As a result of our 7-year-long collaboration, Elinor Bray-Collins and I have established a relationship that is built on trust, collaboration and sharing. This is the foundation on which the COIL project Map the System (MTS) in the Global Polytechnic Alliance (GPA) is built. For the past 6 years, the faculty of the GPA MTS has been offering a unique COIL experience, where students from Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand, Humber Polytechnic and VIA University College in Denmark collaborate and learn together online. As the time zones and seasons require us to meet very early and very late in the day, as well as during the summer holiday of the people from Otago, we cannot rely on a “you do your job, I do mine” mentality. We have had faculty meetings where some of us have had a child in their pyjamas on their lap or scurrying around in the background getting ready for school, and of course, we have had to pull out of meetings and sessions (either before or during) because of last-minute urgent family matters. We have thus had to trust that the others had our back, jumped head-first into collaboration—e.g. when we co-develop sessions in pairs across institutions every week—and shared material, knowledge and responsibility.

How did this partnership push your students to think beyond their usual academic and cultural perspectives?

Martin: I think a key takeaway from the trip to Denmark for many of the students was the amount and nature of trust that resides in Danish culture and society. As we experienced several times during the week, trust is also a catalyst for collaboration. The nature of our partnership—strong on trust, collaboration and sharing—became evident during the trip as we had to change the itinerary several times due to unforeseen circumstances. The students (both from Humber and VIA) had to trust not only “the process” and all the elements of our little system (e.g. the people) but also think differently and take action. 

What were some unique skills or strengths that Humber students brought to the table?

Martin: I was floored by their ability to reflect and ask questions. All of our sessions with speakers/guests took much longer than planned because of all the good questions posed by the students. Many of the guests also commended this afterwards. 

What surprised you the most about the way students adapted to working in virtual and international teams and environments?

Martin: Having six years of COIL experience between our institutions (the GPA MTS), I am used to seeing how well students can collaborate on complex challenges and how well they tackle different time zones, life situations and disciplinary approaches. However, in this particular COIL, I saw for the first time how efficacious acting as a sort of “consultant” for other students could be in facilitating learning for my students. My students knew that they were expected to plan and facilitate the final session for another group on the other side of the Atlantic, and that showed not only during the session but also in the months after. They had acquired another level of professional confidence, which I think is also (in part) due to the fact that the recipients/clients were from a range of other disciplines, countries, and cultures. 

Looking forward, how do you see the role of virtual global education and international education partnerships evolving in higher education?

Martin: Every time we run a COIL, we hone our skills in crafting and running them. To us (VIA), COIL is still a new territory, and only a minority of faculty members have experience with it. Given the landscape of tighter budgets and sustainability concerns—and the unfortunate development of the Danish government’s deprioritization of offering programmes in English—we must prioritize virtual global education. International, in-person experiences are catalysts for learning and collaboration. When you embed yourself in a context physically, you are able to perceive and take in information through all your senses. I hope to see VIA leadership’s active prioritization of offering more student opportunities for global interaction, both virtually and physically, in the near future. As a small country, we cannot afford to turn our backs on the world beyond our borders. Rather, we should show and share our trust and invite others in for collaboration and learning.

Student Perspectives

Humber students Ava Edwards and Tu Thanh (Lucy) Luc joined VIA-University College students Vasilica Manolache and Juraj Tomaic to share how participating in the project added to their learning experience.

What was your biggest “aha!” moment during this COIL collaboration?

Tu Thanh (Lucy) Luc: The trip helped me connect the system and realize that sustainability practice is not about adding more solutions but about focusing on world solutions that can be applied across diverse landscapes. “Culture isn’t just something you preserve—it’s something you live every day.” One moment that struck me was during our visit to the community hub, which highlighted Danish traditions, local crafts, and daily rituals. What amazed me wasn’t just the pride they had in their heritage but how seamlessly it was woven into daily life. It made me pause and think about how we experience other cultures; we usually just visit culture, not live it. But in Denmark, tradition coexists with innovation, and it doesn’t have to be flashy or loud to be meaningful. That shifted how I think about tourism and cultural preservation. The most authentic experiences aren’t about turning communities into attractions—they’re about inviting people to witness real life with care and respect. As a PR student passionate about sustainable tourism, this was a lightbulb moment. It reminded me that the stories we tell about places should come from a place of empathy, not extraction. Culture doesn’t need to be “marketed”—it needs to be understood.

How did working with international peers push you out of your comfort zone—academically or personally?

Ava Edwards: I’m introverted and prefer my own space. For the first bit, it was difficult to spend entire days with others and want to accept the invites to hang out during the evenings as I don’t have that kind of social battery. But when I was upfront with them, they understood, and we managed to meet in the middle to exchange ideas and experiences. 

What was the most meaningful learning experience for you during the trip, and why did it stand out?

Lucy: One of the most meaningful experiences was the poverty walk led by people who had experienced homelessness themselves. Hearing their stories firsthand—while walking through the very streets they once slept on—was a powerful reminder that lived experience holds deep value in education. It challenged how I’ve been taught to view “experts” and redefined the way I think about community care and advocacy. This experience stood out because it wasn’t just theory—it was human, raw, and grounded in reality. 

How did being in a different cultural and educational environment shape the way you approach learning and problem-solving?

Ava: It really drilled into me (all of us, I think) that you can’t just copy-paste a working system from one area to another. I think, for a lot of us, the question shifted from, “Why don’t we (Canada) do what Denmark is doing?” to “Why aren’t we doing exactly what Denmark is doing?” 

What did you enjoy most about collaborating with Humber students on the online COIL that ran from September to December?

Vasilica Manolache: I was very excited to meet new people, and I enjoyed communicating, learning about their projects and getting feedback on mine. I learned a lot of new information, and now Canada is not just a place on the map, but it’s a place whose people I met and have memories of. The most crucial moment was meeting them in person in March, which was the best.

How did this project (i.e., the COIL and/or the in-person trip) challenge the way you usually approach learning or problem-solving?

Juraj Tomaic: It made me think of problems and solutions in broader terms, from different perspectives, to apply systems thinking in my entrepreneurial studies.

What was the most unexpected or surprising thing you learned about working with Humber students and Canada?

Vasilica: I have been living in Denmark for 9 years now, and I have met many different people from many countries, but it is rare to meet Canadians. What surprised me most was how polite everybody was, and that the problems that we have in Europe are also in Canada.

Thinking about your future career, how did this experience help you develop skills that employers are looking for?

Juraj: I think systems thinking skills are crucial for entrepreneurs in these times of social and environmental uncertainty.