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Higher education student and staff mobility projec..
Higher education student and staff mobility project
Start date: Jun 1, 2014,
End date: Sep 30, 2015
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project was implemented as a logical continuation of our 15-year long work in European education projects (Tempus, Socrates, Erasmus) and for the first year, under Erasmus+ program. A structure was organized, consisting of the Institutional Coordinator, 4 acting Faculty Coordinators, one Accountant, and the help of our ex-Erasmus students. Faculty officials (Dean, Vice-Dean) also participated by giving info on updated study catalogs and organizing the learning agreements of incoming students.
The major objective of Erasmus+ Program at the University of Forestry is to increase the number of mobile students at the same time complying with the requirements of partner Universities. Contacts were established with new partners, and existing contacts are maintained and kept functional, where possible. Teacher mobility is encouraged for the faculty coordinators as well as for young teachers, who can apply professionally what they have learned abroad. The Erasmus+ Office at the UF is trying to motivate more students for this activity. The Grant Agreement with NA specified 6 student mobility flows and 3 teacher mobility flows. This project managed to organize and implement 9 mobility flows, 6 students and 3 teaching staff members. The intention was to reach a higher (7) number of student mobility flows and staff mobility flows (4), but this could not be done.
The following activities were undertaken:
• Inter-institutional Agreements were prepared for the new Erasmus+ Program for the period 2014-2020;
• The University Application was filled in and submitted online and to the National Agency;
• The mobility flows were announced to the interested students and teaching staff and selection procedure organized. In order to better motivate students, measures were undertaken, such as the publication of printed materials, such as posters, brochures, CD-s, calendars. The university Erasmus+ site was totally renewed, the information was upgraded; Facebook was used to announce presentations, student attendance was secured of second- and third-year students as typical target. New Faculty Coordinators were appointed in order to include more students and staff in the program.
• All necessary further steps were implemented (Learning Agreements, Grant Agreements, online registration, support for organizing the travel and accommodation, monitoring during stay, support with final reporting after returning home). These steps will be further described.
• Similarly, teachers were informed about their teaching mobility: Before the mobility, they contacted the Host University Coordinator and discussed the theme and timing of the lecture they were going to deliver, as well as details of travel and accommodation. During the stay, teachers were accepted by their colleagues at the Host University, the lecture before respective students was organized for them. After the mobility, teachers submit online questionnaire when a MT+ link is sent to them, and report to the Home University Coordinator.
During the academic 2014-2015 year, the number of mobile students (6) was kept, for two host countries in total. After the October presentation, students from 2 programs were selected by specially appointed commissions at the corresponding faculties: Faculty of Forest Industry with 3 students in Bachelor program of Engineering Design bound to the University of Applied Sciences at Salzburg, Austria; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine with three Master students to the University of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy. Two students from the Technical University in Zvolen, Slovakia, implemented an incoming mobility to the Faculty of Ecology and Landscape Architecture. During the past year, three teaching staff members implemented a mobility for teaching to BOKU- Vienna, Austria, BFK - Budapest, Hungary, and University in Sassari, Italy.
Results and impact attained:
• The students achieved high academic results, although confronted with a different organization of teaching. They return more self-confident, typically, they learn how to make good presentations; they achieve their professional goals; they are satisfied, as the answers to the questionnaires show. As personal fulfillment, students had the opportunity to travel in the Host University Country, and to neighboring countries as well; they get to know different countries and customs; they cope with a foreign surrounding, their self-confidence rising due to the fact that they manage to understand, be understood and learn in a foreign language. Usually, they appreciate the very good conditions for teaching and learning they find at the Host University.
• Teachers usually appreciate the opportunity to witness and compare different teaching methods and organization of study, be able to prepare and deliver a lecture in a foreign language, communicate with their colleagues abroad and try to develop further their methods at home. They are able to plan future collaboration and student mobility.