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Higher education student and staff mobility project
Start date: Jun 1, 2014, End date: Sep 30, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The University of Trieste (UniTs), founded in 1924, is a medium-sized University with approximately 18,000 students. It is located in the region Friuli Venezia Giulia, a very lively international research environment, which hosts 2 academic institutions besides UniTs (University of Udine and SISSA) and more than 50 research bodies (every year an average of 8,000 international researchers come for studying purposes to our region). The Degree Programmes offered by UniTs cover a wide range of fields, some of them being held in English; moreover, 6 Double Degrees in collaboration with foreign Universities are available. The percentage of international students at UniTs in the academic year 2014/15 was remarkable (8.83%): this is partly due to the favorable position in the heart of Central Europe and the proximity to Slovenia and Croatia. UniTs took part in the Erasmus Programme ever since its foundation in 1987; at present there are more than 400 bilateral agreements in force with 230 partner Universities in 27 European countries. Beyond Study Mobilities (379 students in the a.y. 2014/15), the Traineeship area is constantly developing, as the Departments operate a careful selection among the companies and have established long-term collaborations. The analysis of UniTs Mobility flows (2014/15) shows that 379 students received an Erasmus+ Study grant, 55 a Traineeship grant, 13 professors took part in the Teaching Exchange and 11 administrative staff members participated in the Mobility. Most of the participating students belong to the linguistic area. UniTs aims firstly at increasing both the number of outbound mobilities and the number of ECTS gained at foreign universities. The quality of the experiences plays an important role as well, as it means that the students choose relevant exam subjects during their stay abroad and that the institution monitors frequently the foreign university's high standard. As for outgoing students, Erasmus+ studies scholarships are integrated by additional contributions, especially for disadvantaged students, thanks to co-funding by UniTS. Also the ARDISS (Regional Agency concerned with the right to education) offers financial aid to beneficiaries of outgoing mobility scholarships. From an academic point of view, we would like to point out the commitment of the university to grant full recognition of all credits gained by students during their mobility, including credits for thesis research, so that they can be included in the Diploma Supplement, as we consider it to be crucial because of its impact on international mobility as well as labour market opportunities. As for activities for inbound students, UniTs is concerned with ensuring a continuous improvement in the student services and tutoring. Besides the Mobility Office, the local ESN section deals with some basic aspects, e.g. assistance through the Buddy system. Moreover, the remarkable international vocation of our territory led to the creation, in 2010, of Welcome Office FVG, an institution targeted to supporting international students and researchers with regards to formalities to be completed before and upon arrival or in search of accommodation. It was launched as a synergy of the regional academic and research institutions. The newcomers can also benefit of subsidised meals at the university canteen and have access to residence halls, as any other UniTS students. Among the outstanding institutional activities we would like to mention on one side the Welcome Days organized every semester for the incoming students, and on the other side the International Day 2014 and the Department meetings aimed at prospective outbound students. Language training before Mobility was enhanced last year by the University Language Centre through more specific exams and courses organized according to the level of proficiency required by the partner universities. The distribution of OLS licenses was limited to students starting their Mobility in the second term, as UniTs received the licences too late. The next step would be to ensure a wider plurilingualism through stronger attention for less commonly taught and spoken languages, as for example Dutch and Portuguese. As regards staff members, the growing need for specific skills and expertise has encouraged International Mobility staff to participate in educational meetings as "Infodays ERASMUS+” and “Kick-off meeting ERASMUS+” organized by the Erasmus+ National Agency.
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