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Mobility of higher education students and staff supported by internal policy funds (KA131-HED) - Coordinator: ESIC UNIVERSIDAD

2023-1-ES01-KA131-HED-0001351652023Mobility of higher education students and stafffinalized
Countries: ES · Grant: €924,066.4

Objectives

Our aim was to consolidate and scale up the achievements of the previous period, aligning all mobility programmes with the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) and our Erasmus Policy Statement so that internationalisation would not only mean a greater number of stays, but also a systemic improvement in quality, academic recognition and institutional transformation. The ECHE requires that the institutional strategy be aligned with the priorities and principles of the Programme and that these be applied at all levels; we adopted this compass as the operational framework for the project. Specifically, we expected: Learning, employability and personal/professional development of students and staff, consistent with the overall objective of the Programme (educational, professional and personal development that promotes sustainable growth, quality employment, social cohesion and European identity). We wanted mobility to provide measurable and transferable cross-cutting, linguistic and digital skills for entry into the labour market. Higher quality mobility (physical and blended) with automatic recognition. For students, we reinforced study and work placement mobility (SMS/SMT) and for staff, teaching and training mobility (STA/STT), taking advantage of the blended format when it added pedagogical or organisational value. We used the Learning Agreement as a guarantee of ex ante transparency and full recognition of credits and learning outcomes upon return. Alignment with the horizontal priorities of Erasmus+: • Inclusion and diversity: expanding access to mobility for those with fewer opportunities, with financial and non-financial support, and adapted selection and support processes. • Green transition: promoting more sustainable travel choices where feasible and incorporating ‘green’ content into curricula and training activities. • Digital transformation: promoting digital skills and the use of digital tools/resources in teaching and mobility management. • Participation in democratic life: strengthening active citizenship and a sense of European belonging through meaningful international experiences. Institutional impact and ‘internationalisation at home’. In addition to the effect on individuals, we hoped to transform internal processes (agreements, recognition, digitisation, quality assurance) and enrich the campus ecosystem with international students and staff, seminars and Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) that would multiply the impact beyond those who travel. Staff development and teaching modernisation. In the case of staff, mobility should translate into new methodologies, international co-teaching, assessment practices and curricula more closely aligned with European standards, strengthening the institutional capacity to cooperate in the European Education Area. Geographical diversification and structured cooperation. Within the limits of the programme, we sought to balance destinations in the European Area with an international dimension where it would add strategic value (new skills, networks and opportunities), while respecting the eligibility rules and funding framework. Evidence-based management. We set out to measure satisfaction, achievement of learning outcomes, academic recognition (ECTS), integration/employability and institutional return (new alliances, joint projects), in order to provide feedback for decisions and continuous improvement. The previous year's experience allowed us to set ambitious and realistic thresholds and extend good practices to more degrees and departments. (The Programme guidelines emphasise the need to translate priorities into observable results). Communication and dissemination of results. We aimed to professionalise the impact narrative (success stories, comparable data, multilingual materials) to strengthen institutional reputation and contribute to the Erasmus ecosystem in Spain and Europe, in line with the guidelines of the National Agency and the Commission. In short, we hoped that the 2023-25 project would serve to: (i) increase access to and the quality of mobility (physical and blended) with automatic recognition; (ii) operationalise the inclusive, green, digital and civic priorities within classrooms and management; (iii) enhance student and staff development and accelerate institutional modernisation; and (iv) measure and disseminate this impact transparently in order to sustain and scale up the results achieved in the previous cycle. These objectives are consistent with the official definition and priorities of Erasmus+ and with the role of higher education mobility as a lever for change.

Project partners (1)