The Importance of Education in Developing Future Employees’ and Managers’ Intercultural Competence in Students’ Opinion - Pilot Study
The Importance of Education in Developing Future Employees’ and Managers’ Intercultural Competence in Students’ Opinion - Pilot Study

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to explore the importance of education in developing intercultural competence among future employees and managers, as viewed by students. Since today’s students are tomorrow’s professionals – many of whom will work in multicultural teams – their perspectives on the educational challenges involved in building intercultural competence are particularly valuable. The research problem focuses on answering the question: How do students perceive the role of education (their studies) in developing the intercultural competence needed for future work in culturally diverse environments? The research methods employed in the study are a literature review and the elaboration of the findings from 24 individual in-depth interviews with students from Poland, Spain, France, and Lithuania. Higher education plays a critical role in shaping students’ intercultural competence, serving as a foundation for preparing them to succeed in culturally diverse workplaces. Such competence is essential for effective functioning and collaboration in teams composed of individuals from varied cultural backgrounds. It is the responsibility of higher education to equip students with the ability to operate flexibly, adaptively, and interculturally in today’s work environment. Lecturers teaching subjects related to, among others, managing people in culturally diverse settings should focus particularly on enhancing students’ intercultural competence by shaping their attitudes, behaviours, communication, and interpersonal skills essential for thriving in multicultural contexts.

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