This article presents the results of a study conducted in collaboration with two universities - one in Lapland (Finland) and the other in Hong Kong (China) - during the development of an international university course on global media education. The objective of the study was to examine international students' changing conceptual understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy as part of the course. The need for this study arose from the recent rapid spread of AI across industries, which has connected human learning to machine learning. This requires competence in AI to contribute to future society. Five hours of online lectures on AI literacy were delivered during two workshops to students (N = 29) from 13 countries with no or limited prior knowledge of the subject in 2021 and 2022. The participants filled out pre- and post-workshop quantitative questionnaires and wrote diaries about their learning process, the development of their understanding of AI-literacy concepts, and their thoughts on the pedagogical approaches used. The quantitative data were analysed using a paired-samples t-test, while the qualitative data were examined using thematic-content analysis. The findings show that the students' knowledge of AI and their awareness of the importance of AI literacy and media education increased significantly. Further research is needed so that a more appropriate curriculum can be designed for them. We outline some key activities that offer interactive and participatory ways to learn AI in order to assist educators in planning and delivering AI-literacy courses as part of cross-cultural media education. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier.

This paper examines international students’ intercultural experiences during an online course on global media education that was co-organised in 2021 and 2022 by universities in Lapland, Finland and Hong Kong, China. The COVID-19 pandemic started an exponential ascent for teaching and learning in online environments. This is likely to continue in the globalising post-pandemic world, in which the participants are becoming increasingly international and from diverse backgrounds. For positive online intercultural encounters, online pedagogies that enhance intercultural understanding and the development of intercultural communication skills are needed. Through a content analysis of the students’ learning diaries, this paper investigates the ways in which cultural diversity was experienced during online teaching and learning and how the students’ perceptions and cultural sensitivity developed during the courses. The findings are reflected in the five pillars of the online pedagogical framework, which is then expanded to encompass the dimension of intercultural communication to support the development of intercultural sensitivity and interrelationships among students. We propose a pedagogical model for online teaching and learning in intercultural contexts that can support equity and quality in e-learning, or so-called e-quality. This paper concludes by recommending international collaborative teaching in authentic situations for the promotion of intercultural understanding and communication. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.