Enhancing Intercultural Competence of University Faculty

The paper focuses on the intercultural competence of university faculty at an international teaching organization, outline the tools that can be used to assess competence development, and propose training schemes to enhance competence. Given the need for universal policies in learning outcomes, delivery, and assessment to comply with the quality management requirements that most universities have in place, in which areas can behavioral adaptation be reasonably be implemented? The authors, all teaching at the International Business School (IBS) in Hungary, base their views on a one-year project that they started August 2012. They used the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) for an initial assessment of faculty members’ intercultural competence, and then developed a structured program that primarily addresses faculty skills and attitudes. The online and face-to-face training interventions were completed with a post administration of IDI, followed by a thorough evaluation of the training, and will be made compulsory for all new faculty members in the future