From Introduction:

All being is relational. Though this statement may seem self-evident on the one hand, on the other hand it has the potential to change the way we look at many aspects of life, and to bring us closer to the complexity of reality. In this regard, relational approaches have provided the impetus for a wide range of debates in academia and practice.

Also with regard to the question of how we learn and teach, the shift to a relational perspective can offer far-reaching insights. It is against this backdrop that this chapter addresses the implications of a relational view on learning and higher education and specifically makes suggestions on how transcultural formats for students can contribute to learning across cultures. We contend that such formats respond to the need for higher education approaches that prepare students for today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.

A transcultural approach to education, as we merely outline it in this chapter, echoes this observation of the complex demands on “the new agile learners” in the future workforce. It addresses these demands in light of existing findings from learning theory and initial practical experiences with concrete implementation projects. In this regard, we review relevant literature on transcultural learning in higher education and take a closer look at the relational nature of learners and learning processes. In particular, we show that relational learning can take place in shared practical experiences outside of the classroom and can be facilitated by international and interdisciplinary contexts. We illustrate these aspects using the example of the teaching formats applied in the Transcultural Caravan, an initiative launched by Zeppelin University’s Leadership Excellence Institute | LEIZ. By analyzing the empirical data obtained from interviewing the Caravan’s cooperation partners, we can gain new insights into how transcultural education can be designed to enable relational learning processes in global higher education projects.