The university setting is the appropriate place to develop global and virtual abilities. Some disciplines include the multicultural dimension in their programs but the intercultural contact is often missing. Working with an international team, practicing negotiation strategies and using effective decision-making processes are examples of important elements that all professionals should master. These intercultural skills are better learned through first-hand experience (Kolb, 1984). For this reason, an intercultural and academic initiative has taken place between Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Costa Rica and FH Münster of Applied Sciences in Germany. The partnered project focuses on the elaboration of a collaborative project among students from different backgrounds (Costa Ricans and Germans; mainly) to obtain a final negotiated outcome in the elaboration of a sustainable business plan. Participants are 28 university students of an English Integrated course with emphasis on Business English from Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Costa Rica and 17 students from the Administration major taking a Business English class from FH Munster. This research aims two main goals: firstly, to include specific intercultural objectives in university courses and secondly; to give university students the opportunity to work with students from another university in a different part of the world and build intercultural teams.
Keywords: Business Plan, Intercultural Competence, collaborative groups, sustainable project
