Keith H. Sakuda is a professor of management and international relations at the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu. His research interests are international virtual exchange, cross-cultural management, and social entrepreneurship. He has also held faculty appointments at Chongqing Technology & Business University (China) and Kansai Gaidai University (Japan) and served as an external reviewer for Hong Kong Baptist University’s College of International Education.

His consulting experiences include sustainable agricultural projects in Hawai'i, Tahiti, China, the U.S., and Japan. He co-founded an award-winning social enterprise which sought to promote food sovereignty in the Pacific Islands through aquaponics and coordinated distributed agriculture.The company was featured in international media, including Fast Company, The Guadian, and National Geographic, and he was invited to speak about it at Harvard University’s Social Entrepreneurship Conference and Fish 2.0 at Stanford University.

International study abroad is a powerful learning experience to help students develop 21st century skills and intercultural competencies, but economic, cultural, and political challenges may prevent students from traveling. Virtual exchange (COIL) is often proposed as a more accessible alternative to studying abroad, but many question whether it can truly promote intercultural learning without providing sustained face-to-face contact.

This session will discuss the development of an award-winning virtual exchange partnership known as international fully integrated virtual exchange (IFIVE). Initially designed as an online pre-study abroad class, IFIVE has evolved to become a semester-long interactive course with an embedded cultural intelligence (CQ) lab. Highlights from the program’s Best of Regions presentation at the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) Conference will be combined with content from the World Congress on Education (best paper in the category of inclusion) to introduce the IFIVE framework, and data from course evaluations and pre/post assessments for CQ and intercultural sensitivity will be used to demonstrate its effectiveness in promoting intercultural learning. The session will also showcase different distance learning technologies, “flipped” classroom pedagogies, and interactive activities.

In recognition of the unique student demographics in the conference’s host country (Japan), the session will also include a discussion of IFIVE’s “bonus benefit” of introducing non-traditional students to Japanese classrooms. These students, which include working professionals, single parents, and special needs students, create a diverse learning environment rarely found in the country.

It is hoped that this session will encourage attendees to pursue their own virtual exchange programs to promote intercultural learning. It is the sincere belief of the presenter that virtual exchange combined with an emphasis on CQ or intercultural sensitivity can create an inclusive and accessible global classroom for all students.