Projects

Leadership Skills as Career Competencies: Intentional Practice of Communication in Teams  

This undergraduate research project explores how intentional practice of communication in teams supports critical leadership skills as career competencies. Student success in navigating project-based teamwork is of great interest to educators and employers. As demographics in local and international work environments diversify, there is need to learn and practice how we communicate with one another to get the job done. Our team/s of undergraduate researchers will prepare for transnational experiences by and through KSU by researching, proposing, and implementing community-based projects. Project completion in teams will demonstrate the value of understanding and practicing critical communication skills as well as career competencies identified by ACTFL and NACE. 

Rethinking the Past – Digital Archives, Restitution and the Culture of Remembrance

Engage with student peers from KSU, Germany, Austria, and the UK to discuss critical issues in the Humanities and Social Sciences, such as digitization in archives and museums, and ethics of commemorating the past. Identify and research local sites or objects in your community and explore how the past is integrated into lived current culture. Or: Support the work of Germany’s Arolsen Archives, the International Center on Nazi Persecution, via their website and explore how to deal with the legacy of WW2 in terms of remembrance and digitalization. In Spring 2024, meetings are every first and third Mondays of the month 12-1 pm.

Student Success at KSU: A Comparative Study of German Learners of English

Each year, KSU hosts cohorts of young Germans, and KSU students’ lives are enriched by their presence on campus. Join us in a study of this experience by developing fundamental research skills as you assist KSU educator-scholars in a quasi-experimental research design of a mixed-method study. Interested in finding out how international students fare at KSU and how to conduct quantitative and qualitative research by analyzing data from surveys and focus groups? This project is for you!

Emergent Leaders in Glocal Partnerships: Critical Issues in Cultures and Communities

You’ve been told you are a “born leader”? Or a “perfect teamplayer”? Join us to find out what may be hidden behind these labels for leadership styles and practices. We study the complex systems undergirding often not-so-smooth operations, as well as the processes entailed in getting work done – ideally to the satisfaction of all involved. From identifying your own strengths and needs-improvement skills to recognizing in others preferred (cultural) ways of addressing tasks, this project moves you toward finding and advancing your own leadership skills.