European higher education is increasingly shaped by the need for flexible, digitally supported and internationally connected learning opportunities. This development is visible in the growing attention to blended and online education, virtual mobility, internationalisation at home, inclusive teaching, and digital competence development (European Commission, 2020). 

In the context of CHARM-EU, Transnational Online Learning (TOL) responds to these developments. TOL is a form of virtual mobility in which students remain enrolled at their home university while participating in online or hybrid courses offered by another CHARM-EU partner institution. It enables students to access courses beyond their home institution and gain a transnational learning experience without requiring physical mobility.  

In transnational online settings, creating social presence and meaningful interaction requires deliberate attention in course design. Interaction, engagement, and collaboration therefore need to be intentionally built into the course design (Richardson et al., 2017; van der Stap et al., 2024).