ROCvAF wants to be a diverse and inclusive community where students learn to participate in a sustainable, international and dynamic society and job market. Through internationalisation activities ROCvAF wants to prepare students for the intercultural society and internationally oriented job market. As an educational institute located in the metropole area of Amsterdam, the students and teachers are already part of an international and diverse environment. It is therefore important that each student has the possibility to gain international competences. ROCvAF wants to make internationalisation accessible for all students and staff. ROCvAF wanted to do this by first understanding the needs and wishes of students by doing a ROCvAF broad internationalisation research that would provide insight on how to better shape and organise the international student mobilities. ROCvAF wanted to promote the Erasmus+ programme and enhance the number of international mobilities. The Erasmus+ programme had the reputation of being overly administrative, therefore it was important for us to improve and simplify the application process so international mobility would become more accessible and the focus could be more on the quality of the mobilities.
The ROC van Amsterdam–Flevoland (ROCvAF) is one of the largest Regional Education Centres in the Netherlands, based in the international and multicultural Amsterdam metropole area with around 40.000 students. ROCvAF consists of 12 Colleges, offering over 400 programmes ranging from EQF level 1 to 5. We have students and staff of about 150 different nationalities and over 50% of the students have a non-Dutch background. ROCvAF sees internationalisation as an instrument for professionalisation, to increase the quality of education and for potential social innovation and collaboration. Internationalisation is a tool to become more internationally and interculturally competent, to help students acquire 21st century skills and to prepare them for the internationally oriented work force and diverse society. International mobility helps in developing personal and professional competences of teaching staff and learners. Through the Erasmus+ KA1 funding, students and staff are able to go on international internships, study exchange programmes, job shadowing, or group study visits. ROCvAF applied for this project to enhance the number of international mobilities and increase the accessibility of an international experience.