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If you're pressed for time, here are the key takeaways from this page:

The strength of your COIL/VE course is directly related to the strength of the faculty partnership
Interdisciplinary partnerships are common and can be very successful
You can utilize existing resources and partnerships to great effect through your department or through your institution.
Take time to choose the right partner. Your collaboration could last multiple years; pick a partner that you can work with long-term.

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The first word in the COIL acronym is Collaborative, and it's no stretch to say that without a strong partnership between faculty and institutions, these types of programs are more likely to fail than to succeed. Everything stems from the faculty partnership, from initial idea through activity planning and implementation. In contrast to other collaborations which tend to be organized on the institutional level, COIL collaborations are faculty-driven. It's always easier if you have an existing partnership that you can bring to a COIL course, but it isn't a requirement. If you'd like to pursue a collaboration but don't yet have a partner, there is still hope!

There are a number of tools that you can use to identify a partner which we will cover soon, but for now, let's focus on general tips for finding a collaborator and building a strong partnership with them.

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The first important thing to know is that a successful partnership isn't reliant on two faculty who teach the same course (or even who are in the same discipline!). There are many examples of interdisciplinary COIL courses. Consider how a combination of an Entrepreneurship course and a Visual Design course might allow for exciting collaborations.

Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself to help you think through what type of partner you might be able to collaborate with:

Why do I want to enhance my course with COIL?
How will a COIL module serve my students? What new value will they get out of the course?
What other disciplines might have intersectionality with mine for a collaboration?
What existing partnerships do I, my department, or my institution have that I could leverage?

Finding and maintaining a partnership isn't easy!

Watch the videos below to hear some faculty stories about their experience with COIL partnerships.

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One you have identified your partner, the next step is forming a productive working relationship. In a sense, you will need to learn the same lessons about working on a multicultural team as your students will during the COIL course. There are some excellent resources to help you navigate the cultural differences and develop a strong collaboration. A great place to start is the book Intercultural Collaboration by Design, which was written by two collaborators who share their tips on developing strong partnerships across difference. The Global Classrooms team can also suggest some initial steps that you can take. The goal is to come to a point as a team where you have shared goals, a clear path to achieve them, and are committed to the success of your partnership.

Here's a great video on seven important steps to a strong collaboration:

We'll deal much more with partnering once you've joined a Global Classrooms cohort. For now, know that having a good, solid partnership is a make-or-break part of the COIL process. It is where you should spend ample time in the early phases and you should regularly check in with your collaborator in case any course corrections are needed. The better the partnership, the better the course.

Now that you understand the importance of a strong faculty partnership, let's consider one of the ways in which you might identify a partner if you don't have someone in mind already. Click "Next" to continue.