When the pandemic accelerated the usage of an online learning environment, the opportunity for collaborative online international learning and collaboration also increased. COIL is the acronym of Collaborative Online International Learning. The COIL initiative came from an American university developing a cross-cultural video production course linking students internationally to co-create videos already back in 2006.

Whilst COILs are growing in popularity, it is still not used as frequently as one may expect given the global world we live in. There are many cross-border collaborations that generate interesting learnings and opportunities. However, to arrange a scalable, structured, collaborative online international learning activity, it requires planning, time, often technology and a lot of enthusiasm.

This presentation will discuss a truly international learning experience being organized and implemented in 2021 and 2022. The author of this presentation worked on global trading floors in big investment banks before joining the academic world. When the possibility of allowing the students to experience a truly international trading environment in real-time was possible, the opportunity was acted upon. The first COIL experience involved students from UK, the Netherlands, Canada and Germany. The following year, the learning experience had expanded to also include students from India and Romania, totalling over 300 students simultaneously interacting in real time.

The COIL entailed a cross-border equity trading floor simulation where students were paired with students from other universities during each session acting as analysts and traders. Besides learning about trading and the markets, the intended learning outcomes were also to develop students' transferable skills. To be able to trade effectively, the students had to communicate clearly, analyze, problem solve, evaluate and make investment decisions in real time, where “money” was on the table. The stress levels were running high, a lot of new information was constantly shared, and the time frames were tight. The opportunities for transferable skills learning are optimal.

Students came from different academic backgrounds and experiences which also created a true interdisciplinary learning experience, all through the usage of online technology being used in a creative collaborative way.

The activity was evaluated by feedback from students following their participation with anecdotal evidence of how to have the opportunity of working in real-time with a student from another part of the world was something they felt took their learning experience far beyond the classroom (both literally and practically)

The presentation will share key learnings for students but also for educators. The talk will also give some practical tips on how any educator can arrange and engage students in highly effective COIL’s.

Keywords: COIL, international, trading, transferable, employability, interdisciplinary.