And the BestMasters Award goes to…

The BestMasters Award of the publishing house Springer aims at honouring the top master theses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2016, the focus of one winning project was the short version of the I4ID®. More specifically, the psychology student Fabian Wolff from Kiel University researched the impact of occupational stays abroad (e.g. study, internships, Au pair, volunteering, Work & Travel) on the intercultural competence of students.

For this thesis, the participants’ level of competence was measured at two separate points in time (before the assignment and three month after its beginning) and compared to a group of students that remained in Germany during this period of time.

The results of the study were clear: The intercultural competence of students increased during their stay abroad – not only according to their self-evaluation, but also according to their situational judgment. No such effect was found in the comparison group.

Hence, the study provides further evidence for the fact that the competences measured by the I4ID® are changeable and relevant in the international context.

We are pleased about the encouraging result and congratulations to Fabian Wolff on his award! You will find the publication here!