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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 2014 Call is the first time that UCLan Cyprus is participating in a mobility project since the beginning of its operation in 2012. The university already has an international character as it employs staff from a number of nationalities and hosts Cypriot, EU and international students and therefore obtaining the Erasmus charter for Higher Education was the next step in the internationalisation of the institution.
The objectives of participation in the Erasmus+ programme surround the internationalisation of the university and the students. For the institution, the aim is to enhance staff exchange that will lead to the exchange of good practices, knowledge transfer, joint research projects and at a later stage joint programmes. With regards to the students, the aim of the university is to develop independent learners who are more advanced in their knowledge, understanding and acceptance of other cultures, in touch with their EU identity and to assist them in gaining a comprehensive set of employability skills that will make them desirable candidates both nationally and internationally.
During the 2014 Call, UCLan Cyprus has sent 6 students on a study mobility in the areas of Business Administration, Accounting and Computing. Following their application, the students were selected based on their academic performance and feedback from their lecturers. Having completed a full academic year abroad, the students have expressed that they now have a greater understanding of different cultures, improved confidence and self-awareness, greater interest in European topics and feel that they have better opportunities to be employed both in Cyprus and abroad.
These feelings are shared by the 3 students who participated in a traineeship mobility and in addition the students have gained relevant work experience and skills such as time management and organisational skills, problem solving skills, improved computer skills and adaptability to work in a culturally diverse setting as part of a team. All these skills are highly desirable by employers and thus will increase the employability of these students on a national and international level.
Immobile undergraduate students had the opportunity to be taught by incoming lecturers in the areas of Business Administration, Computing and Hospitality and Tourism Management. The students? feedback for these teaching sessions was very positive and they reported that being taught by lecturers from other universities in specialised areas is very useful. This had offered them the opportunity to experience different teaching styles and in some cases, has encouraged students to ignite an interest to participate in Erasmus+ either for study mobility or traineeship mobility.
Successful staff mobilities play an integral part in the successful continuation of the project. For the 2014 call, UCLan Cyprus had 2 outgoing teaching mobilities and 3 incoming teaching mobilities. These mobilities have strengthened the relationships with the partner institution, instigated discussions for joint research projects and allowed for the exchange of good practices. Practices such as attendance monitoring and smart podiums at UCLan Cyprus have been viewed positively by incoming staff. The visits of UCLan Cyprus lecturers to other institutions have increased the interest of students at that institute to study at UCLan Cyprus. Additionally, staff exchange has allowed academics to look at course compatibility more carefully and decide which ones are similar and could be chosen by exchange students.
UCLan Cyprus has sent 2 staff members for traineeship mobility. The participating organisations who hosted UCLan Cyprus staff for training have contributed through sharing good practices and providing training to enhance specific competences and practical skills of staff members. In addition, staff members have benefited from these trainings through expanding their network in their field of work and in strengthening research collaborations. The university benefits from such mobilities because staff returns with an expanded knowledge of good practices, different ways to organise that are more efficient and also provides the staff the opportunity to find out about problems faced by other institutions and their solutions thus assisting the university to prepare for the anticipated increase in numbers.