Intercultural Awareness in the Workplace

A group of people forming a diverse team.

Course overview

Date: 11 May 2026 (on- campus) / 15 May 2026 (Online)

Location: Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus

Course details

This 1-day CPD-certified course will introduce intercultural issues and challenges in contemporary workplaces. It aims at raising intercultural awareness to anticipate issues that might affect the dynamics of multicultural teams, while strengthening team cohesion, collaboration and trust.

The course combines formal and informal learning activities covering theoretical concepts, case studies and collaborative activities allowing participants to share knowledge, experience and good practice, both during class time and over lunch, and coffee breaks (included in the course package). This will help to consolidate knowledge and practice, and to create a space for networking and building future collaborations. Course materials, complementary resources and CPD certificates will be available to all participants upon completion of the course.

By the end of the course, participants will:

Have knowledge of different theoretical and practical approaches to interculturality
Be able to anticipate how intercultural issues might affect the dynamics of multicultural teams
Be able to apply the gained knowledge and understanding to work practices

Who is the course for?

Team leaders
Employees in multicultural environments
Entrepreneurs or small businesses with international clients

Fees and booking

In Person (Lunch Included) Online

Standard £150 £110

Current Staff / Alumni £135 £99

Students £80 £60

Please be aware that this course requires a minimum of 13 participants. Should the course not run, you will receive a full refund.

To register for this course, please complete the following Registration Form.

The registration deadline is Monday, 4 May.

What is included?

Tuition fee
Access to the course materials and CPD certificate
Catering (On campus offering only)

Learning outcomes for Intercultural Awareness CPD Course:

Introduce participants to key concepts and theories of culture(s)
Provide participants with a comprehensive appreciation of different communication models and conventions
Foster participants’ ability to communicate meaningfully and complete tasks in multilingual and multicultural teams
Identify, analyse and evaluate cross-cultural conventions and strategies in the global context
Develop skills for working in and managing multilingual and multicultural teams
Reflect on own and others’ cultural identities, communication and conflict resolution styles

Course sessions are divided into the following components:

Session 1- Culture & Communication in the Workplace (9.00 am - 11.00 am)

Introductions, overview, learning outcomes and expectations followed by Culture and Communication in the workplace

a. Overview of key models and contemporary approaches

b. Organisational culture

c. The contemporary multicultural workplace

d. Cross-cultural challenges in workplace interaction

e. Developing intercultural competence

Break 11.00 am - 11.25 am

Session 2 - Multicultural Teams (11.25 am - 1.00 pm)

a. Team formation – establishing trust in cross-cultural contexts

b. Cross-cultural understandings of leadership

c. Team meetings: agenda control, formality, politeness, turn-taking etc.

d. Negotiation and conflict in cross-cultural settings

e. Intercultural perspectives of time, work and leisure

Lunch Break: 1.00 pm - 2.15 pm

Session 3: Dignity & Diversity in the Workplace (2.15 pm - 3.30 pm)

a. Cross-cultural understandings of dignity

b. Dimensions of diversity: Race and ethnicity; Religion, age and social class; Gender identity

c. Case studies

Afternoon Break: 3.30 pm - 3.55 pm

Session 4: Multilingualism in the Workplace (3.55 pm - 4.45 pm)

a. Language(s) in the workplace

b. English as a Business Lingua Franca

c. Conducting business through translation and interpreting

Wrapping up: 4.45 pm - 5.00 pm

For any enquiries related to the course content, please get in touch with Katerina (A.Strani@hw.ac.uk)

About the Course Leader

Katerina Strani is Professor and Head of the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies within the School of Social Sciences. Her background is in Languages and Political Theory, and she has published research papers on intercultural dialogue, racism and hate speech, language and heritage, and two edited volumes on Intercultural Issues in the Workplace (Palgrave, 2023) and Multilingualism and Politics (Palgrave, 2020). Katerina is also leading the Migration theme at the Intercultural Research Centre (IRC), and she was also a Visiting Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (2021-2022).

Katerina has long experience in leading international teams, having led international funded projects on racism and discrimination, and two language and culture apps, for newly arrived migrants and refugees, and for endangered languages. She has also delivered training in Germany, Scotland and in Malaysia as part of the Marco Polo project, which focused on the interregional and international cooperation of Southern Asian universities.

Katerina coordinates the Global course (taught in Heriot-Watt campuses in Edinburgh, Dubai and Malaysia), Intercultural Issues in Business and Management, and leads a separate Intercultural Issues in Business and Management course specifically tailored to the Graduate Apprenticeships programme. She also teaches International Politics, Sustainability and the Intercultural Context, Global Englishes and the International Workplace, and Comparative Social and Cultural Issues. She speaks English, Greek, French and Russian (as well as basic German).

Accommodation

If you require accommodation, please visit our on- campus visitor accommodation for more information.

This course can be tailored to meet the needs of your organisation and is also available online for individuals worldwide.

For further information about the LINCS CPD offerings contact Dr Stacey Steen (S.Webb@hw.ac.uk)