Advanced German Language Exchange Program with Zurich University of Applied Sciences

Students of the German column from the university’s language learning club – Lang-Up participated in a knowledge-exchange program with students from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). Duygu Dogru, the coordinator of ZHAW’s program on language and integration and Office of Global Education at Ashoka, set up a semester-long engagement wherein the students from Zurich designed interactive language enhancement sessions and delivered them on a weekly basis. 10+ Lang-Up members acted as the sample pool for the credit-course taken by 10 Zhaw students on teaching German as a second/foreign language.

The sessions covered a range of topics from day-to-day conversations in German, Swiss geography, Swiss festivals, etc. Students engaged in a range of vocabulary building and conversational  exercises, which helped them strengthen their language skills. We had an enriching experience spending the semester with students from ZHAW and hope to continue the spirit of peer learning among polyglots at Ashoka! 

How did it all start? In March 2023, Duygu Dogru visited Ashoka University as part of her ZHAW Staff sabbatical programme where she met a number of potential partners in India. Assessing her interests, GESP office felt it would be interesting to introduce her to the Lang-Up members. 

It is during this discussion with Ashoka students Bulbul Pareek, Kritkeerat Kaur and Nishka Mishra, the idea of a pilot knowledge exchange program came up. Once back in Switzerland, Duygu Dogru expressed interest in starting the project in Monsoon/Fall 2023. 

Based on the success of the pilot initiative, we look forward to carry forward with the learning experience in 2024.