3 UoH students win laurels in Digital Story telling contest

The Harmony project, led by Rafael de Miguel González from the University of Zaragoza in Spain, approved UoH participation for the project “Internationalization and Virtual Exchange: Borderless between EU and Asian Countries,” approximately three years ago. This project is a collaborative effort that involves multiple universities and aims to promote international cooperation and academic exchange.

Speaking to The Hans India, Prof N Siva Kumar, Harmony Project In charge, says, “Rafael de Miguel González approached the UoH which is already known globally in consortium, with a specific criterion that faculty members associated with the project should have prior experience in international projects. The Harmony Project involved extensive training and collaboration between Asian and European countries, emphasising the importance of cross-cultural engagement. Apart from UoH, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore and NMIMS Mumbai from India, there are universities from Bangladesh, Vietnam along with European universities from Lithuania, Slovenia, and Bulgaria which are part of the project.”

As part of the digital storytelling competition conducted by the Harmony project, I created a short video about Paper planes, which talks about the universality of human experience and beauty of human diversity. Mohammed Naseeh, IMA Anthropology

The project is overseen by a team of six faculty members from UoH. The European Union has provided clear guidelines for funding proposals, and the UoH is part of this project due to its existing International Affairs Office. The UoH aims to establish connections with a wide range of Asian countries through this endeavor. Adding further, he said, “We have reached the final phase of our project, which has led to the establishment of the “Friends Tea House.” The idea behind the Tea House is to create a social space on the campus for international and domestic students to interact and contribute to enhancing intercultural awareness. We remain optimistic that a Harmony Project 2.0 can also be realised in the near future, as we are delighted with the progress of the project.” The participants who attended a two-week ‘boot camp’ on intercultural awareness and cultural diversity (IACD) organised by Varna University of Management (VUM), Varna, Bulgaria in June/July 2023 shared their experiences with The Hans India,

Lasya Priya, IMA Political Science student, said, “I viewed this as a golden chance. I was highly enthusiastic about creating my video for a Digital Storytelling competition. I crafted a video that portrayed the encounter of four individuals who come together at a climate conference in a location in Nigeria. They engage in a conversation about the repercussions of deforestation in the area. My trip to Bulgaria also proved to be exceedingly fruitful.”

I crafted a video that portrayed the encounter of four individuals who come together at a climate conference in a location in Nigeria. They engage in a conversation about the repercussions of deforestation in the area. Lasya Priya, IMA Political Science

Mohammed Naseeh, IMA Anthropology, another participant said, “As part of the digital storytelling competition conducted by the Harmony project, I created a short video about Paper planes, which talks about the universality of human experience and beauty of human diversity. Within the confines of UoH campus, I engaged with the students participating in the Study in India Program (SIP) and who answered my questions in front of my camera, regarding their childhood memories, especially about creating paper planes as a child. The film showcased how something as simple as a paper plane has a variety of emotions and stories attached to it. Based on the selection of the short-film, I was able to take part in a boot camp in Bulgaria, where my cross-cultural engagement was genuinely thrilling.”

Sanjeevani, IMA Sociology student said, “I had submitted a digital story titled Perspectives, based on folk tales about the moon around the world. It drew out the similarities and uniqueness of these stories and aimed to convey the message that unique perspectives of people around the world coming together can create unimaginable beauty.

I had submitted a digital story titled Perspectives, based on folk tales about the moon around the world. It drew out the similarities and uniqueness of these stories. Sanjeevini, IMA Sociology

At the bootcamp in Bulgaria I had a truly life enhancing experience of sharing a classroom with students from different countries bring their own unique contributions to the table.”

Dr. S. Shaji, a member in UoH Harmony, project opined that the project provided an excellent opportunity to promote Internationalisation at Home (IaH), a key idea doing rounds in internationalisation of higher education at the global level, apart from providing an opportunity to our students to receive training on skills that promote diversity and inter-cultural interactions.

Another faculty member in the project, Dr. Aparna Rayaprol, said, “With Friends Tea House in UoH, it provides an opportunity and space for the university students to exchange views on various contemporary topics, and an academic exchange between them will help in long run. Now, that we have equipment there, we see a bright future in this space for the student community”.