Intercultural communication in the IT context

Направление 25.04.01 Техническая эксплуатация летательных аппаратов и двигателей
In today’s globalized IT industry, technical expertise alone is no longer sufficient for professional success. Software developers, project managers, data scientists, and QA engineers routinely collaborate with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders from diverse cultural backgrounds. Miscommunication arising from cultural differences can lead to project delays, budget overruns, and team conflict.

This course is designed to equip IT students with the intercultural competence necessary to navigate multicultural work environments effectively. Drawing on established frameworks such as Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Hall’s high-context and low-context communication theory, and Lewis’s cultural types model, students will explore how cultural values shape communication styles, decision-making processes, approaches to hierarchy, attitudes toward time and deadlines, and conflict resolution strategies in software development and IT project management contexts.

The course adopts a practice-oriented approach, incorporating real-world case studies from multinational IT companies, cross-cultural team simulations, and analysis of communication breakdowns in distributed Agile teams. Special attention is paid to the specific communicative challenges of remote work, including video conferencing etiquette across cultures, asynchronous written communication in global teams, and culturally sensitive code review and feedback practices.

By the end of the course, students will be able to identify potential sources of intercultural friction, adapt their communication strategies to different cultural contexts, and contribute to building inclusive and psychologically safe team environments — skills that are highly valued by employers in the global IT labour market.