A review of collaboration through intercultural competencies in higher Education

Abstract

Intercultural competencies are crucial when collaborating effectively with people in different contexts to solve shared problems. This systematic literature review analyzed the content of scientific evidence from 2016 to 2023 of the publications in the Web of Science and Scopus databases on intercultural competency development and international collaboration in higher education. First, a systematic mapping study was carried out, and then selection criteria were applied to choose the articles to be fully reviewed, leaving a remainder of 50 studies. The analysis focused on three main components: intercultural competencies, collaboration, and internationalization. The evidenced results highlight that the following predominate: (a) qualitative studies, especially case study designs in the pedagogical area; (b) the topics of intercultural competencies and collaborative learning; (c) findings related to intercultural awareness and motivation; (d) the objective of intercultural competencies to prepare the students for intercultural interactions; and (e) attitude as the leading indicator measured in the studies. This study aims to be of value to academic and scientific communities interested in internationalization, collaboration, globalization, and educational innovation.

Keywords:

• intercultural competencies
• international experiences
• intercultural collaboration
• international education
• globalization
• higher education
• educational innovation

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Intercultural competencies are crucial when collaborating effectively with people in different contexts to solve shared problems. This study analyzed the content of scientific evidence from 2016 to 2023 of the publications on intercultural competency development and international collaboration in higher education. The analysis focused on three main components: intercultural competencies, collaboration, and internationalization. The evidenced results highlight that the following predominate: (a) qualitative studies, especially case study designs in the pedagogical area; (b) the topics of intercultural competencies and collaborative learning; (c) findings related to intercultural awareness and motivation; (d) the objective of intercultural competencies to prepare the students for intercultural interactions; and (e) attitude as the leading indicator measured in the studies. This study aims to be of value to academic and scientific communities interested in internationalization, collaboration, globalization, and educational innovation.

1. Introduction

Media technology has advanced exponentially in recent years. Physical location is no longer an impediment to connecting, working, and cooperating with people anywhere in the world. New distance technologies provide opportunities in education and demand new skills from educators, who must teach students to be prepared to compete successfully in a global economy (Titarenko & Little, 2017). Research leads us to determine that, regardless of the students’ aspirations after graduating from university, language skills and intercultural competencies are necessary to function in an increasingly globalized and interconnected world (Garrett-Rucks & Jansa, 2020). Communication with people from different cultures is standard in classrooms, the workplace, health, and politics (Ilie, 2019). Young professionals must be and feel ready for the effective interaction for intercultural collaborative work that the current context demands. Therefore, it would be advantageous to investigate the current strategies utilized to enhance intercultural competencies for collaboration by analyzing recent studies to identify their main outcomes, the function of intercultural competencies in these studies, and their relationship with professional collaboration.

Higher education institutions seek to support the integral development of their students by providing opportunities to carry out some international experience and obtain or reinforce transversal skills that are indispensable in their tasks as citizens and professionals. Students enroll in study-abroad experiences for a variety of reasons: to aspire to help others, seek a transformative experience, or satisfy curiosity about different cultures, so teachers need to be sensitive to the complex emotions and outcomes that international education trigger (Armstrong, 2019). The power of the group and the atmosphere that is created in the environment where the analysis takes place led to a much higher level compared to other environments. Intercultural competency is based on valuing diversity; a value cannot be adopted after a brief intervention (Popa et al., 2021). It is recognized that the development of intercultural competency is the responsibility of both individuals and institutions and that its achievement is a continuous, complex, and dynamic process throughout our lives as students (Fierro et al., 2018). Intercultural competencies encompass a variety of skills that demand sustained effort and coordination among individuals and educational institutions. These skills entail self-awareness, clear communication, a willingness to embrace diversity, and a commitment to lifelong learning.

Considering the above, this document presents the results of a systematic literature review to identify the methodologies used in the main themes and trends investigated in the last eight years regarding the influence of intercultural competencies on collaboration at the university level, and the fundamental intention of these studies, the main findings of impact on the subject, and the indicators measured in each of the investigations. This study creates a frame of reference to show what has been identified clearly. It is a guideline for generating didactic strategies to develop intercultural competencies through collaboration in higher education. Also, it provides evidence of what has not yet been explored and analyzed, inviting the pertinent evaluation of its investigation by the scientific and academic communities and direct stakeholders in educational innovation and intercultural cooperation.

2. Method

The method of this analysis was a systematic literature review (SLR). Systematic reviews aim to identify all research addressing a specific question so that they give a balanced and unbiased summary of the literature (Nightingale, 2009). The SLR methodology is a three-phase review method that includes planning, execution, and synthesis (Barn et al., 2017), allowing to analyze and summarize the content of the studies that are included in the database defined by the searching and selecting criteria. Literature reviews and evidence syntheses are important research products that help us advance science incrementally, by building on previous results (Lame, 2019). The aim of an SLR is to create new knowledge through a meta-analysis of existing knowledge published in the literature, using methodological quality as inclusion criteria when searching for and including literature (Farshchian & Dahl, 2015). Figure 1 depicts the four pivotal stages followed in this study, which have been adapted from earlier systematic reviews (Guillén-Yparrea & Ramírez-Montoya, 2023a, 2023b), as well as the guidelines outlined in the PRISMA 2020 Statement (Page et al., 2021).

Figure 1. The review process adapted from (Guillén-Yparrea & Ramírez-Montoya, 2023a).

3. Planning

The initial phase of the systematic literature review was dedicated to study planning. The primary aim was to explore previous investigations on intercultural and global competencies in higher education, specifically regarding professional collaboration. To accomplish this, six research questions were established, and it was decided that the most effective approach for conducting the review and providing precise and comprehensive responses to each inquiry was through a thematic content analysis. This involves systematically identifying, coding, and interpreting themes within the data (Castleberry & Nolen, 2018). Thematic content analysis is a widely used approach in the fields of social science, humanities, and communication studies for revealing themes, concepts, and underlying meanings within a dataset. This research method, referred to as thematic analysis or content analysis, is utilized to examine qualitative data.

4. Screening

To have an overview of the studies on developing intercultural competencies to promote international collaboration it first was conducted a systematic mapping study (SMS), a survey method used for the analysis of published literature in a wide research area and aims to creating a map of a wide research field (Farshchian & Dahl, 2015).

Articles were extracted from databases that ensure access to high-impact journals, such as Web of Science and Scopus. Articles related to developing intercultural and global competencies in higher education to encourage professional collaboration were read and analyzed to identify the most appropriate search terms to define concepts commonly used in the subject. The search for publications was carried out considering the need for recently updated information, from January 2016 to May 2023, and established the main search terms: intercultural competence, higher education, and collaboration. The search strings for each database are shown below:

5. Web of Science

((ALL=(Intercultural competence)) AND ALL=(higher education)) AND ALL=((collaboration OR professional OR multicultural OR training)) and 2016 or 2017 or 2018 or 2019 or 2020 or 2021 or 2022 or 2023 (Publication Years) and Articles (Document Types) and English or Spanish (Languages) and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) or Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) or Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) or Book Citation Index—Social Sciences & Humanities (BKCI-SSH) or Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) (Web of Science Index)

6. Scopus

“intercultural competence” AND “higher education” AND “collaboration” AND (“professional” OR “multicultural” OR “training”) AND (LIMIT-TO(DOCTYPE,“ar”)) AND (LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2023) OR (LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2022) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2021) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2020) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2019) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2018) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2017) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2016)) AND (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE,“English”) OR LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE,“Spanish”))

After extracting the results from the search strings, the articles were imported into Excel to clean the database and analyze each record based on the previously defined research questions.

7. Selecting

After the results of the systematic mapping study, the eligibility criteria were applied to identify the studies to include in this systematic literature review, awarding one point for each criterion met. The articles with five and four points were selected (Figure 2):

Figure 2. Themes and their research methodologies.

1. Is it an empirical research study?

2. Has the study been cited at least once?

3. Is the study related to intercultural competencies?

4. Was the study conducted in the higher education context?

5. Is the study potentially related to intercultural competencies for collaboration?

Of the 438 studies included in the SMS, 50 articles were deemed appropriate for this SLR. The answers to the questions were input into an Excel table, and the data were analyzed, converting them into relevant information based on the conceptual, theoretical framework previously presented.

8. Finding

After reviewing the 438 articles in the systematic literature mapping, a deeper analysis was conducted for each of the 50 articles included in this review study. The collected and classified information was then interpreted. The database built is available at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7926640.

This section shows the findings and validates the results by answering each research question determined in the first stage of this study.

RQ1:

Which journals have published the most on the subject and contain the most cited articles?

The journals most specialized in international education, intercultural relations, and development in education had the most publications related to intercultural competencies and collaboration in recent years, coming from English-speaking countries, notably the United States and the United Kingdom (Table 1). The article [28], considerably more cited than the rest, determined that the professional area of the students impacts how they perceive intercultural competencies and the importance they attach to them. In their case study, the students of philology and language tended to have higher levels of development of intercultural competencies (Akhtarieva et al., 2019).

Table 1. Journals with the most publications

Journal	Articles	Article identifier	Quartile	Country
Journal of Studies in International Education	4	[6], [7], [9], [37]	Q1	United States
International Journal of Intercultural Relations	2	[17], [18]	Q1	United Kingdom
Language and Intercultural Communication	2	[19], [49]	Q1	United Kingdom
Journal of Vocational Education and Training	2	[25], [41]	Q2	United Kingdom

Table 2 shows that a few articles have had four or more citations, and the most cited studies come from 2016 or 2017, making evident the interest in research on this topic in years before the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility that when international exchanges cease, there is decreased interest into further inquiry into the impact of intercultural competencies on international professional collaboration.

Table 2. Most cited articles

Times cited	Year of publication	Article identifier	Years of publication to 2023	Database
33	2019	[28]	4	Web of Science
11	2017	[8]	6	Scopus
10	2017, 2016	[11], [2]	6, 7	Scopus
9	2016	[4]	7	Scopus
8	2017	[13]	6	Web of Science
7	2016	[1]	7	Scopus
6	2018, 2017	[17], [9]	5, 6	Scopus
5	2016	[6]	7	Web of Science
4	2016, 2020	[5], [32]	7, 3	Scopus

RQ2:

What methodology was used to address the main themes in the studies?

The different themes and trends addressed in the 50 studies reviewed were categorized into five distinct groups:

8.1. Virtual collaboration

Three articles highlighted the topic of virtual collaboration. The study [4] aimed to examine the use and effects of global virtual teams (GVTs) as a classroom tool in logistics and supply chain management (Trautrims et al., 2016). Study [45] aimed to explore whether global virtual team (GVT) projects increase students’ understanding of cultural differences and how international events derived from COVID-19 influenced these types of interactions (Swartz & Shrivastava, 2022).

8.2. Intercultural competencies

17 studies specifically investigated intercultural competencies, such as [20], which measured the attitudes of participating students towards other cultures at the beginning and end of the project (Arshavskaya, 2018) also study [37] in which 252 students from an international business and management study program at a Dutch university collaborated on a group learning activity to develop intercultural competency (de Hei et al., 2020), and [48] that assess students’ self-perception of their social, emotional and intercultural competences in a public higher education institution in Colombia (Herrera Granda et al., 2023).

8.3. Collaborative learning

14 articles highlighted collaborative learning as a pedagogical strategy. For example, study [1] explored how students in simulations of business teams evolved over three semesters in their general skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal relationships (Pöysä-Tarhonen et al., 2016).

8.4. International experiences

11 empirical studies related to the international experiences of the students, either in short or long stays, and they concerned the mobility of the students to another cultural environment. For example, article [17] reported on a study focused on identifying the learning needs related to intercultural competency (IC) of students enrolled in Erasmus Mundus joint master’s degrees (Yarosh et al., 2018).

8.5. Virtual intercultural experiences

5 articles analyzed the results of virtual intercultural meetings, like study [32], which investigated the interculturality of 48 teaching students in a telecollaboration project between Turkey and the United States study (Üzüm et al., 2020) [39] examined the online exchanges of 28 foreign language teachers in training (14 in Russia and 14 in the United States) based on intercultural competency frameworks (Sardegna & Dugartsyrenova, 2021).

Figure 2 shows the relationship between the study topics and the research methodology. Qualitative methods were predominant: twenty articles explored intercultural competency themes, collaborative learning, and virtual intercultural experiences. However, 20 works used mixed methods, leaving only the theme of virtual intercultural experiences without investigating this methodology. On the other hand, to a lesser extent, using qualitative methods leads to assuming the qualitative nature of the theme of intercultural competencies for international collaboration.

Virtuality as a tool to promote intercultural encounters without the need for the logistics of physical mobility was the most interesting concept emerging from this analysis, marking the opportunity to explore the application in different areas with a methodology that considers qualitative and quantitative information.

RQ3:

What methodological research design was used in each thematic area of the studies?

The predominant methodological design in the 50 studies reviewed was the case study (38%), while indisputably, the most recurrent thematic area in the studies was pedagogical (84%). However, Figure 3 shows that there were a couple of cases in the field of digital education using a mixed methodology with a sequential explanatory design and a couple of case studies in the thematic areas of telecollaboration and digital education. Also, the clinical setting appeared in two studies: research with an experimental design [13] that sought to assess the predispositions, empathy, and intercultural sensitivity of pharmacology students as a set of patient-centered communication skills (Ekong et al., 2017); and an exploratory sequential design [11] in a work that analyzed the experiences of medical students from Australia and Indonesia collaborating in an intercultural environment (Ambrose et al., 2017).

Figure 3. Research design and topic area of the studies.

The issue of intercultural competencies for professional collaboration is relevant, not only in the educational field but also in other areas where the need for interaction in a multicultural environment is common, such as the clinical sector and the scenario in which these exchanges can be carried out as the digital medium and telecollaboration. Figure 3 suggests that this topic still needs to be investigated from methodological designs other than case studies to have a broader and more complete vision when approaching research from other scientific perspectives.

RQ4:

What was the main research finding of each study?

To have a more detailed and organized view of the findings in the 50 studies analyzed, a classification that assigns the different results into five groups based on the concept that most impacted this discovery was created:

8.6. Collective harmony

7 studies highlighted findings related to group and collective harmony as a key identified by the experiment participants. For example, article [7], in which 130 university students of multicultural origin (Western and non-Western), concluded that tolerance and collective harmony are the essential components of intercultural competency (Odağ et al., 2016). In study [37], students perceived that the process of improvement in interaction and group environment considerably increases the quality of collaboration in terms of verbal interaction and equitable contribution (de Hei et al., 2020) and in article [24], one of the most outstanding results was that the most effective work teams were those with a better relationship dynamic (Watzek & Mulder, 2019).

8.7. Intercultural awareness

In 14 of the studies, the positive influence of encounters for developing intercultural competencies was found, whether it was an international exchange, the elaboration of a project in multicultural teams, or collaborative learning in virtual spaces. Similarly, a case study on projects carried out by virtual teams [45] highlighted how projects in global virtual teams increased students’ understanding of cultural differences and the need to adjust their behavior to improve interaction (Swartz & Shrivastava, 2022). There was also the case that analyzed the results of an experience of a short international program for university students [23], which declared how short mobility programs can help develop intercultural competencies because it generates an increase of cultural and global awareness in the participants (Blankvoort et al., 2019).

8.8. Integrated approach

In this category, 9 of the 50 reviewed studies were included where the authors identified necessary elements to be included in the proposed strategies to promote intercultural competencies. For example, in article [41], the most outstanding finding was the importance of relating the impact of intercultural competency in the specific profession to stimulate the student to identify its value and be interested in developing it (Gulikers et al., 2021). In case study [10], based on in-depth interviews, they investigated perceptions of academic development workshops and the effectiveness of a transnational tertiary support program, determining that more attention should be paid to cultural differences between exporting and importing countries, evidence-based assessment, and institutional leadership support to the program and disciplinary competencies (Dickson et al., 2017).

8.9. Motivation

Outstanding results regarding student motivation were identified in 13 of the studies reviewed. For example, article [3] reported how a virtual intercultural collaboration of academic teams from three European universities was carried out for two years. Thanks to this initiative, the participants highlighted their increased motivation for intercultural interaction (Gannon et al., 2016). In study [25], the participants stated that international collaborative online learning generated practical opportunities for relationship-building, communication, and personal and collective understanding, motivating group exchanges and participation (Cornelius & Stevenson, 2019).

8.10. Sensitivity

Seven of the 50 articles reported outstanding results on the presence and importance of sensitivity when interacting with people from other cultures. For example, study [19] aimed to show how students participate in virtual intercultural exchanges and use evaluative language to establish relationships and foster collaboration; they found that participants mostly preferred to express signs of affection and sensitivity by sharing their feelings and emotions instead of judging the behavior of their peers (Vinagre & Corral Esteban, 2018). Another example of this is the long-term qualitative study [29] conducted within the framework of teaching and learning research, in which postgraduate students were exposed to real-life interactions in global workplaces to interpret their meaning of intercultural communication competency, where the need to integrate the affective aspect was clearly discovered, including warmth, empathy, and human contact along with individuals’ cognitive and behavioral skills for better performance (Yusof et al., 2019).

Each article was assigned a keyword that best described the research, classifying them into four groups: collaboration, international program, multiculturality, and virtual environments. Figure 4 shows that at least one study identified relevant findings related to the flourishing of intercultural awareness during the research, highlighting as essential that students take charge of identifying and reflecting on the multicultural landscape and the implications for collaboration. In studies involving collaboration, interaction positively affected students’ motivation for international cooperation and developing intercultural competencies.

Figure 4. Studies’ most relevant outcomes.

RQ5:

What was the purpose of intercultural competencies and their correlation with professional collaboration in each study?

In the four categories, it was possible to group the approach and objective of intercultural competencies for professional collaboration in the 50 studies:

8.11. Preparing for international experience

24% of the articles detected the need for intercultural competencies as part of the fundamental preparation of students to live an international experience, whether it would be an exchange program or a short stay. In study [2–8], which explored the dynamics of the formation of intercultural professional competencies of future teachers among international students living in Russia from 0 to 5 years, the authors diagnosed the general level of tolerance among the students interviewed and the types of ethnic identity; intercultural competencies were a necessary condition for the acculturation processes of international students in the university environment (Akhtarieva et al., 2019). Case study [22] aimed to diagnose and understand the perspectives of Portuguese academicians regarding the components of intercultural competency and the importance of its development by higher education students. It highlighted the intention of intercultural competencies as crucial in preparing individuals for exposure to international meetings and improving team communication for collaboration (Pinto, 2018).

8.12. Preparing for effective collaboration

In 18% of the studies, intercultural competencies were used as a tool to prepare individuals for effective collaboration, as in article [2], which focused on implementing an international collaborative project by teacher educators and the experiences of postgraduate students, where intercultural competencies were the tool to promote better professional collaboration by improving the perspective of international teamwork for learning (Tanghe & Park, 2016). Study [9] explored students’ perceptions of multicultural group work, having the competencies for collaborative online learning through intercultural preparation before working in teams (Reid & Garson, 2017).

8.13. Preparing for intercultural interactions

In 40% of the articles, intercultural competencies were identified as a way to prepare for intercultural interactions, as in the qualitative interpretative study [36], where the types of dialogue created among 47 undergraduate students from Israel and other countries were examined; it aimed at intercultural competencies to prepare participants for international experience, fostering their development of effective online collaborative learning study (Eliyahu-Levi, 2020) [43] used the inventory of intercultural development and the inventory of intercultural experiences to explore the participants’ intercultural experiences, emphasizing the development of intercultural sensitivity to prepare for multicultural citizenship (Rodríguez-Izquierdo, 2022).

8.14. Developing intercultural competencies through collaborative work

18% of the articles focused on developing intercultural competencies through collaborative work, such as study [33], a project of intercultural virtual teams where classrooms from Scotland, Germany, and Portugal participated. Students were exposed to the challenges of international collaboration to increase their intercultural competency (Swartz & Shrivastava, 2022) Study [34] involved 1025 undergraduate students from six universities in the Netherlands and Canada to better understand the factors that promote student engagement in teamwork, where greater perceived cultural diversity fostered behavioral and cognitive engagement and developing competencies through collaboration in intercultural groups (Poort et al., 2022).

One constant in the relationship between intercultural competencies and professional collaboration was the need to develop them with awareness, communication, sensitivity, and intercultural responsibility to prepare students before having an international interaction (Figure 5), whether through a virtual exchange, a collaborative project, or a multicultural encounter.

Figure 5. Intercultural competencies and their relationship with collaboration.

RQ6.

What are some of the indicators that were measured in the studies?

Each study used different indicators based on the specific objectives and instruments in the research. One of the variables measured in 10 [6, 7, 9, 10, 19, 20, 22, 23, 32, 35] of the 50 articles was the “students” attitude”, either toward teamwork or toward learning the subject in question. Some examples of the indicators that the authors handled in their studies were:

[5]: Qualitative research that used a model of cultural competency, including knowledge, values, and skills, to explore perceptions of students becoming teachers in Australia, assessing their self-perception in the international experience carried out (Winslade & Boylan, 2016).

[6]: A study showing some challenges of how the intercultural competency of university students participating in a mentoring program in the community could be assessed; their attitudes, knowledge, and understanding were measured, as well as the desired results of the program (Prieto-Flores et al., 2016).

[8]: Research conducted among 450 graduates of a European business school, evaluating indicators of global identity and the motivation for the participants’ intercultural encounters (Schworm et al., 2017).

[21]: A study that provided empirical evidence on several key antecedents of cultural intelligence, using data from professionals in Austria, Colombia, Spain, the United States, and Greece, with indicators on the moderation, communication, cognitive preparation, global knowledge, and learning of participants’ behaviors (Alon et al., 2018).

[30]: Research that analyzed the attitudes of students enrolled in the programs for Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, and Pedagogy in two Spanish universities toward immigration (in the educational context) and their perceptions about interculturality as a pedagogical proposal, taking as indicators their attitudes toward immigration, cultural diversity, and interculturality (Velez & Olivencia, 2019).

[31]: Article investigating the reciprocal partnership between two cities in Namibia and Sweden to deepen the understanding of learning challenges and outcomes in a project on education for sustainable development. The participants measured the understanding, implementation, idea, knowledge, and capacity to prepare for the future (Sonesson & Nordén, 2020).

[44]: Study that examined the impact of the synchronous virtual exchange of 106 participants from universities in Mexico, Poland, Spain, and the United States in developing global citizenship competencies, where they measured Intergroup empathy and valuation of diversity (Lenkaitis & Loranc-Paszylk, 2022).

9. Discussion and conclusions

The study of the impact of intercultural competencies for collaboration is a transversal issue of great relevance for higher education institutions. Their interest lies not only in comprehensive development, but also in the internationalization of their students. Language plays a crucial role in educational strategies aimed at facilitating interaction among individuals from diverse nationalities and cultures. Table 1 shows that the publications related to the subject come mainly from specialized journals in English-speaking countries and were studies carried out primarily with qualitative methodology (Figure 3). The English language is widespread worldwide in almost all areas, from science to the film industry, undeniably occupying a unique place because it is the most used language and has firmly established itself as the dominant global language (Rao, 2019). In 2022 reports, English continued to lead as the most spoken language, with around 1.5 billion speakers (Statista, 2023). Convergence is needed in communication when interacting with individuals of different native languages. Positioning English as the most spoken language worldwide provides the alternative for its use in participation and multicultural meetings.

Intercultural competencies prepare people for adequate interactions in different cultural contexts; these support collaboration in multicultural environments. Figure 2 shows that collaborative learning and intercultural competencies are on par in interest. They are the two components that stand out most in the investigations. Figure 4 shows that the area in which they were applied most was pedagogical, with different research methodology designs. The case study was used the most to analyze a particular environment and situation of higher education. Collaboration leads to comprehension of content areas and the diverse theories that support interdisciplinary units, encompassing multiple disciplines and intercultural citizenships (Wagner et al., 2016). Thus, interdisciplinary collaboration within an intercultural framework can significantly enrich the proposals that may arise due to harmonious and joint work among students of different nationalities.

It is essential to define the effects of developing intercultural competencies and identify the aspects it impacts directly when intending to conduct international collaboration. Figure 4 provides a detailed view of the intentions of recent scientific evidence, identifying the study groups by one word based on their approach, highlighting collaboration, international programs, multiculturalism. Virtual environments are critical elements and guidelines in strategies for intercultural development. The figure shows the five categories clarifying the main findings of each approach and emphasizing the importance of setting the tone for attention to collective harmony, intercultural awareness, integrated techniques, motivation, and sensitivity. It must be emphasized that the conceptualization of intercultural competency is complex and multifaceted (Hoyt, 2016). There are many factors and components involved in intercultural competencies. Their transversality and inherent relationship with language and human interaction make their approach complex and indispensable in students’ professional development.

The knowledge and mastery of intercultural competencies are projected in how the individual conducts themselves in any intercultural interaction. As shown in Figure 5, the distribution of the purposes of intercultural competencies in each of the 50 studies reviewed and their relationship to professional collaboration. Efforts to satisfy the growing demand of internationalization directed attention to intercultural competence as one of the core ingredients of this process (Sabet & Chapman, 2023). Intercultural competence is frequently defined as a critical and significant attribute of graduates, an outcome of internationalization and a requirement for global citizenship (Ji, 2020). Therefore, intercultural competencies are required in preparing individuals for international experiences, cross-cultural encounters, effective collaborations, and for their development through collaborative work.

The student’s attitude is critical for many reasons since it significantly influences their educational accomplishments and overall personal development. It influences their interpersonal skills, as it dictates their willingness to collaborate with peers, communicate effectively, and engage in constructive dialogue. Among the most recurrent indicators measured in the studies in this systematic review was the students’ attitude toward interculturality and collaboration. Developing a positive intercultural attitude requires qualities such as curiosity, open-mindedness, a willingness to challenge preconceptions about different cultures and one’s own, a proactive approach to interact with others on an equal level, and a genuine interest in exploring various perspectives to comprehend both familiar and unfamiliar phenomena, whether in one’s own culture or within the practices of other cultures (Guglani, 2016). The impact of intercultural conditioning on students is vital to encourage cooperation and collaborative work with students from other cultures from a positive and enriching perspective.

Based on the findings of this thematic content analysis, the most recurring concepts that arise when assessing intercultural competencies for collaboration in higher education are: (a) English as the predominant language for facilitating international collaboration, playing a pivotal role in breaking down barriers and fostering effective communication among individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, (b) the use of virtual tools is identified as a recent but highly impactful mechanism for developing competencies and facilitating academic encounters, (c) collaborative learning stands out as an effective strategy to promote motivation, sensitivity, and increased intercultural awareness. By working together on projects and engaging in group discussions, students not only gain subject-specific knowledge but also develop a deeper understanding of different cultures and perspectives, (d) the role of intercultural competencies in preparing university students for cross-cultural experiences and effective collaboration, getting them ready to navigate the complexities of an interconnected world, and (e) the significance of students’ attitudes toward interculturality as a critical indicator of the level of dominance in intercultural competencies. The willingness of the students to embrace diverse perspectives and engage with other cultures serves as a foundational element in their ability to develop and apply intercultural skills effectively. In conclusion, these concepts collectively underscore the multifaceted nature of intercultural competencies in higher education, highlighting the importance of language, virtuality, collaborative learning, and student attitudes as key factors in achieving effective intercultural collaboration in academic environments.

10. Limitations and recommendations

Two limitations can be indicated in this study. The first limitation is that only the two previously mentioned databases were consulted, which could have limited the scientific evidence reviewed and restricted the terms used for the search for data in each database. The second limitation is that the authors decided the categories used to group the studies to answer the research questions based on the main topic of interest and the relevance of these proposals.

Regarding recommendations for future studies, this work presents a conceptual and content synthesis of the research carried out during the last eight years on intercultural competencies and collaboration in higher education. We invite all those interested in scientific inquiry, practice, and assessment of the guidelines, aspects, tools, and characteristics that emerged from this systematic literature review. All these efforts to create strategies to foster intercultural collaboration can help to correctly address the global challenges that are being faced in this age.

Acknowledgments

This work was developed with the support of the University of Salamanca doctoral program for Education in the Knowledge Society.

The authors acknowledge the technical support of Writing Lab, Institute for the Future of Education, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico, in the production of this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2281845

Additional information

Funding

The authors appreciate the financial support from Tecnologico de Monterrey through the “Challenge-Based Research Funding Program 2022”. Project ID # I001 - IFE001 - C1-T1 – E.

Notes on contributors

Nicia Guillén-Yparrea

Nicia Guillén-Yparrea is a professor at Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico, and actual student of the doctoral program Education in the Knowledge Society at the University of Salamanca, Spain. She focuses her research on educational innovation, technology, interculturality and international collaboration.