As the only instructor of video production on the campus of UW-River Falls, I have often found myself the recipient of unsolicited requests for campus and community video productions, project ideas for students, and related collaborative proposals which due to my nature as a “yes guy” I often entertained until my tenure committee recommended that “I learn how to say no.”
When I later reported my annual academic service and creative activities to my tenure committee, I included my claim that “I learned how to say maybe” which in at least one case was well worth my consideration!
In October 2011, RheinMain University in Wiesbaden, Germany contacted me about an idea for an intercultural collaboration video project that sounded interesting and supported the UWRF mission of “creating an informed global perspective.” I thought I could at least find out about it and had nothing to lose, so I promptly replied, “UW-River Falls would be interested in exploring more details.” By December there were two RheinMain University faculty members visiting us in River Falls, which was the beginning of a positive relationship and partnership with faculty, staff, and students.
The collaboration began with a series of video projects that were produced by students with faculty supervision as yearlong independent studies that included UWRF travel to Germany and RheinMain University visits to River Falls. This was the first time in my life that I had traveled outside of North America, which was also the case for our students. It was a life changing experience to say the least. It also allowed creative freedom and hands-on experiential learning that gave students the change to apply the video production and storytelling skills they had learned in the classroom to a “real-world” project with the mentorship of seasoned faculty professionals.
The videos presented views of the cultures both from an academic perspective and showed what life was like in another part of the world. They were shown to students on both campuses to generate interest, which it did.
In 2013 UW-River Falls started a “Year of…” program to celebrate and promote international culture of other countries around the world. The first year was, you guessed it … Germany! Throughout the year there were several cultural demonstrations, food, and exhibitions that included a “Live from Germany” simulcast production that featured real-time interactivity between UWRF and RheinMain University students that was screened to a standing room only crowd. The live production featured a game show and pre-recorded interviews that, with the exception of a few technical glitches, were a success and helped attract more positive attention to the partnership and set a wonderful precedent for the “Year of…” program for years to come.
An official “exchange” program was set up allowing our students to study for a semester in Germany and RheinMain University students to study at UWRF for a semester. Unlike the “Hessen in Wisconsin” exchange program that had previously existed, the new exchange was discipline specific for media production with classes related only to the major and program, which became a major selling point.
A notable difference in the educational system in Germany is that tuition is provided free of charge to their citizens which sounds like an amazing deal (which for the most part it is). However it requires a stringent system of determining what students are placed in which areas. Unlike the American liberal arts education system, it is more specifically focused on areas of study, such as media production. RheinMain University Media Production has a “supply and demand” issue annually with more than 3,000 applications for 80 positions that are determined in part by placement test scores, which are waived for UWRF students.
The language barrier was also a consideration, which was solved with RheinMain’s existing international exchange policy requiring all classes that had one or more non-German students to be taught in English. RheinMain hosts other students from across the globe and requires that all of their students study at least one semester abroad. English is taught as a second language in most German schools starting at a young age that definitely helps the cultural acclimation and exchange.
So far we have successfully hosted German students at UWRF and have sent our students to study in Germany. One of our students at the time of writing this article is currently studying there, which you may be asking “but I thought it was summer?” This is another difference between the German and American higher education systems. In Germany there are two semesters: Summer runs March to July
and winter runs from October to January with breaks built in. Students studying abroad adjust their schedules to accommodate the difference, which so far seems to work well with plans to continue into the future.
Another recent exciting development of this partnership is a faculty exchange that allows instructors to teach a weeklong workshop. This summer UWRF Stage & Screen Arts colleague Professor Robin Murray and I co-taught a Collaboration and Media Production workshop to a large class of German students and our one American student at RheinMain University. It was an exhilarating experience that offered an opportunity to share our American perspective with an international audience. We got to know the culture from our gracious hosts who welcomed us into
their campus and homes, which went way beyond an average tourist experience. We look forward to hosting our German colleagues at UWRF this fall and returning the hospitality.
In a world that seems wrought with growing division, the experience of international partnerships seem like a good idea to help to bring people together to create a climate of mutual respect, which in my experience has been overwhelmingly amazing!
Erik L. Johnson
Associate Professor of Stage & Screen Arts
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
