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Mobility of higher education students and staff supported by internal policy funds (KA131-HED) - Coordinator: Universita' degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo

2022-1-IT02-KA131-HED-0000633472022Mobility of higher education students and stafffinalizedGood practice
Countries: IT|AT|BE|BG|HR|CY|CZ|DK|EE|FI|FR|DE|EL|HU|IS|IE|LV|LT|LU|MT|NL|NO|PL|PT|RO|SI|ES|TR|UK · Grant: €763,784.25

Objectives

The strategic objective of the University is to increase the level of internationalization both within the students' careers and the UniUrb system as a whole, also with reference to academic and technical-administrative staff mobility. After several years of steady growth, the pandemic introduced an unfortunate discontinuity and the challenge was to bring mobility for study and traineeship back at least to pre-pandemic levels. In addition to building on what had been developed in the previous years, the actors mainly involved in the mobility processes (Erasmus Delegate, the staff of the International Mobility Office, Erasmus contact persons of the degree courses) worked to constantly improve the services and support methods for students, with the aim of fostering the acquisition of a greater awareness and autonomy in planning their Erasmus stay. A calendar of initiatives (InfoDays) was planned with the aim of introducing the most significant and qualifying aspects linked to the study/traineeship experience abroad, followed by further "targeted" events so as to accompany the student through the various deadlines (and procedures) and make the whole process easier and, above all, staggered in time. Communication has been articulated so as to 'engage' students via social media, and InfoDays have been also offered via live streaming. The thematic insights have been spread prior to the publication of the 'call for application' so as to make the application process as simple and natural as possible, which was almost inevitable! Many of these initiatives were integrated by direct testimonies from student-tutors with study-stay experience abroad and were carried out with the involvement of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) volunteers, an association that has now become a constant partner. A further objective, continuously renewed and re-proposed, is the rethinking of notices and procedures in order to simplify and streamline, along with the maximization of the recognition of University Educational Credits acquired during mobility in agreement with the Erasmus Coordinators of the Departments, the Study Courses and the Student Secretariats, in order to have a correct career transition. As far as the participation in mobility consortia, specifically UniMed and UniAdrion, is concerned, it was proposed to raise awareness and involve the teaching staff members in order to intensify exchanges and make the Office and the Departmental offices more welcoming. A second specific objective - again within the KA131 programme - was to create mobility engagement in the technical-administrative staff members, which historically represents the lowest flow of mobility. The new perspective and vision offered by opening up to foreign countries, along with the development of more widespread linguistic-relational skills, also by technical-administrative staff members, are indeed an essential basis for an effective internationalization policy, as already seen within Erasmus international mobility programmes. In fact, the participation in Staff Weeks and ad hoc programmes carried out by the Erasmus Office staff members has shown important and positive repercussions on the university's activities in terms of development of new initiatives, services and inter-institutional agreements, and this is due especially to the networking activity generated by taking part to these meetings. Moreover, the presence of more versatile technical-administrative staff members is a key success factor to further support the internationalization policy of our university in terms of foreign language (English) academic offer. The current planning also included the establishment of a European Alliance and, as a consequence, many inter-institutional agreements with potential partners were signed. A further challenge was to once again become an attractive venue for incoming students, whose numbers had been brought down by the pandemic. On this side, efforts were renewed to spread UniUrb among partners (networking), to contact, welcome and offer services to incoming students. The consolidation of peer-to-peer tutoring was planned, free Italian language courses were reintroduced, as well as numerous ethical-recreational initiatives implemented in collaboration with ESN. Finally, the agenda included the 'systematization' of processes and services also in terms of Quality Assurance. Although all processes are inspired by the Deming cycle, with an orientation to continuous improvement, the establishment of a university Erasmus Committee was also formalized, with the inclusion of a representative of the student community.

Project partners (1)