PhD Defence Alexandra Kolm

Keywords: International online collaboration (IOC), international online collaboration competencies (IOCCs), global virtual team, virtual teamwork 
 

"Transcending Time, Space, and Culture: International Online Collaboration Competencies in Health Professions Education"

Introduction: International online collaboration in global virtual teams gains importance due to the global nature of health challenges and the rapid adoption of virtual healthcare, but the competencies health professionals need for international online collaboration are not available.  

Methods: A systematic review identified relevant competencies for international online collaboration. Based on these results, a consensus study contributed to a comprehensive competence framework. The design and evaluation of a learning intervention to foster international online collaboration competencies (IOCCs) was researched in a design-based research study. Finally, a validation study tested reliability and validity of the developed scale. 

Results:. The competency framework covers 26 IOCCs within six competency domains. The designed learning intervention showed significant effect sizes in IOCCs improvement. The assessment scale has high variance, high internal consistency and acceptable model fit to explore self-perceived IOCCs. 

Discussion: Collaborating online at a global level requires a different set of competencies compared to conventional face-to-face teamwork. This thesis contributes to the field of international online collaboration in health professions education by developing a competency framework, a learning intervention with design guidelines, and a validated and reliable self-assessment scale to evaluate IOCCs.  

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