Project work across borders in the arctic Barents region: Practical challenges for project members

The aim of this article was to explore cross-border project cooperation in applied settings in health educations as this emerges in the Barents region. Specifically, we wanted to identify the practical challenges for those who participate in the work. This is of direct and indirect relevance to nurs...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nurse education today 2008-10, Vol.28 (7), p.841-848
Main Authors: Immonen, Ingrid, Anderssen, Norman, Lvova, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arctic Regions
Collaboration
Communication Barriers
Cooperation
Cooperative Behavior
Crossborder cooperation
Cultural Differences
Cultural Diversity
Curriculum
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate - organization & administration
Health Transition
Higher education
Humans
International Cooperation
International Educational Exchange
Internationalization
Medical education
Multicultural education
Needs Assessment
Northern Europe
Norway
Nurse
Nursing
Nursing education
Nursing Education Research
Planning Techniques
Program Development - methods
Project work
Russia
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The aim of this article was to explore cross-border project cooperation in applied settings in health educations as this emerges in the Barents region. Specifically, we wanted to identify the practical challenges for those who participate in the work. This is of direct and indirect relevance to nursing education due to the rapidly increasing student exchange rates, the teachers’ increased impetus to take part in international collaboration, and the increased emphasis within nursing education to be culture sensitive and ethnically fair. The considerable differences between countries in the Barents region present clear challenges. Knowledge based on experience from everyday cross-cultural and multinational project work has not been communicated extensively, and each project will have to acquire its own knowledge. Based on participation in various cross-national collaboration projects, we organize the identified practical challenges into five interrelated, everyday challenges: (1) cultural differences: obvious and overlooked, (2) the continuous challenge of language, (3) organizational variations, (4) possibilities and obstacles related to technology, and (5) the important minutiae of project logistics. These exist in all stages of a project. In project applications, these challenges and corresponding realistic consequences for funding are vital. Nursing students and their teachers should be aware that practical cross-national project work poses important challenges that nevertheless might be overcome.
ISSN:0260-6917
1532-2793
DOI:10.1016/j.nedt.2008.02.001