Bridging cultures for sustainability: developing intercultural competence through virtual exchange on wicked problems

This study examines how virtual exchange can develop intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and global citizenship through collaborative engagement with sustainability challenges. Grounded in Byram’s ICC model, Liddicoat and Scarino’s intercultural language teaching framework and the concept of wicked problems, the project connected Thai and German university students over six weeks to address SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). An exploratory qualitative-driven mixed-methods design was employed, with data collected through pre- and post-surveys, self-assessment questionnaires, written reflections, semi-structured interviews and a culminating digital poster project requiring students to co-create intercultural and sustainability-informed solutions. Results indicated perceived developmental trends across the intercultural learning processes of noticing, comparing, reflecting and interacting. Qualitative findings highlighted gains in empathy, cognitive flexibility and transformative learning as students negotiated cultural tensions and co-constructed responses to global challenges. The study demonstrates virtual exchange’s potential to deepen intercultural understanding and foster meaningful global citizenship engagement, with implications for pedagogical design, institutional policy and future research in intercultural-sustainability education.