Visiting CIP: Insights and Experiences

In September 2024, CIP had the pleasure of hosting two guests:

Dr. Reginald D’Silva, Associate Dean from The University of British Columbia (UBC), who joined us for a for a two-week guest research stay, and Catherine Mu-Hua Chen-Fliege from Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM), who came for a one-week Erasmus+ visit. 

What did they share about their visit?

Reginald D’Silva has a background in applied linguistics and is currently engaged with Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practices at his home university. He was interested in learning about our work with the language policy at the University of Copenhagen and how it relates to questions of diversity, equity and inclusion, which are also included in the UPCH Strategy 2030 plan. 

Reflecting on his experience, Reginald shared:

“I am grateful for the meetings and classroom visits that helped me understand how internationalisation efforts and language policies regarding the use of English and Danish have evolved at the university. It was interesting to learn about the Centre’s role in advocating for, and supporting, the university community in the parallel use of these languages.”

Catherine Mu-Hua Chen-Fliege, who teaches English for Specific Purposes at the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen was curious about CIP’s approach to teaching academic English and preparing staff for English-medium instruction (EMI). Coming from Singapore’s bilingual education system and now the German educational system, she was eager to learn about Denmark’s parallel language policies in higher education.

During her stay, Catherine observed the teaching of our academic English courses for students. She shared her positive feedback, remarking:

“The concept that remained in my mind all this while was how each colleague tried to empower students into finding their own voice - be it in writing or in the form of a presentation … .”

Why hosting guests matters at CIP

Janus Mortensen, director at CIP says:

“Being able to learn from the experiences and insights from colleagues around the world is something we value very much at CIP. Our two most recent visits from Catherine Mu-Hua Chen-Fliege and Reginald D’Silva gave us an opportunity to learn about the conditions of teaching English in the German context and provided extremely valuable inspiration for how diversity, equity and inclusion can be integrated into our work at with language and internationalisation at CIP and the University of Copenhagen.”

We look forward to welcoming more guests in the future and learning from their unique perspectives.

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