October 27, 2022

For most Columbus State University students participating in the university’s Study Abroad Program, the experience is their first international trip ever. To help them prepare for that journey, CSU has introduced a new platform to help expand its students’ global travel-savvy as they ready for their international study abroad experiences. 

With the help of CulturaGo, an international online learning platform, CSU is able to better than ever before increase students’ comfort level with international education. The cultural learning materials part of the CulturaGo platform pre-exposes them to cultural information through planned lessons and quizzes. Students learn various aspects of each culture such as family structures, history, political economy, societal norms and much more. 

Coordinated by CSU’s Center for Global Engagement, the university’s Study Abroad Program helps students expand their knowledge and cultural awareness while exploring various countries. As the program continues to grow and add new study-abroad sites, CSU is taking additional measures so students can fully immerse themselves in the culture of their host country and enrich their understanding of the particular country in which they are studying. 

Rolo López, a senior pursuing a bachelor's degree in business management, previously studied abroad in Korea. CulturaGo filled in gaps in his understanding of Korean culture he had gleaned from friends.

“I had picked up on Korean culture through my friends and through Korean dramas I watched, but the [Korean study abroad] module was able to explain the culture a bit further and even give common examples of how the culture can be seen day-to-day,” Lopez stated. “For example, when waving someone over, do so with your palm facing down. Waving someone over with your palm up can be seen as if you were calling a dog.”

Not only does the learning platform provide students access to cultural information, but it also provides individual testimonies from residents of that particular country. With these personal testimonies, students arrive at their destination with comfort and confidence.

The CulturaGo courses help introduce students to what they can expect when integrating within the cities and with the locals. Moreover, once students arrive abroad, they will continue to have full access to their course and other cultural information to refer to when needed. 

Since CSU introduced CulturaGo, students have returned from their study abroad trips affirming the learning tool’s benefit to improving their experience. 

“CulturaGo is an innovative platform that will prepare CSU students for a successful cultural and academic experience abroad,” said Dr. Eric Spears, the Mildred Miller Fort Foundation Eminent Scholar and Chair of International Education, as well as the executive director of the Center for Global Engagement. “The CulturaGo modules are integrated into CSU’s pre-departure orientation eight-week course and are provided to students going with faculty on short-term programs to Japan, Italy, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom.”

CSU students benefit from decades of specialists’ expertise and get unique perspectives from expats, locals and travelers—all packaged up in one easily accessible e-course.

Lopez agreed, especially about the societal awareness he gained and his confidence in approaching locals. He also commented on how engaging and user-friendly CulturaGo was.

“Everything seems intentionally planned and the topics flow,” he said. “The user is left with the feeling of reading a long text message from a friend rather than reading a dense textbook.”

Each year, more than 250 Columbus State students participate in study abroad programs—which include opportunities in as many as 20 countries. These include both popular destinations as well as places off the beaten path like Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jordan, Tunisia and Botswana. Short-term and semester-long study abroad trips allow students to travel the world as they accrue course credit toward earning their degrees. According to Spears, those experiences are vital to developing lifelong skills beyond classroom knowledge.

“We’ve developed our education abroad programs in a way that encourages students to develop the critical soft skills necessary for a successful career once they leave CSU,” he explained. “The majority of students who come back to me after they graduate tell me that their study abroad experience helped them land their first job, or get their first graduate school placement or assistantship, or entrance into a professional school.”

Dylan Rice, a 2020 graduate, spent his junior year studying in Oxford, England, and living in Columbus State’s Spencer House while there. The history major and business minor credits the experience succeeding in his current role as director of Jewish community relations for the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeastern United States.

“My time in Oxford helped prepare me to work in the world of diplomatic relations in many ways,” Rice recounted. “Going abroad makes you a more open-minded and well-rounded individual. If you want to work with people who are different from you— especially those who are from different countries—I think it’s essential that you have some sort of international experience.”

Scholarships are available to CSU students to defray program expenses, and professionals in the university’s Center for Global Engagement assist with all the paperwork and documentation required.For more information about studying abroad and the university’s on-campus international programs, visit columbusstate.edu/global.