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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: May 31, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
Poznan University of Technology implemented in 2014/15 the first mobility project under the new Erasmus+ Programme. For years, we participated in the Socrates-Erasmus and later in the LLP Erasmus Programme, so the idea of exchange in the higher education sector was not strange to us. In the new programme, we wanted to continue to send students abroad to study (first, second and third cycle studies). We also wanted to receive students from our partner universities for a semester or a whole academic year. In the first year of the project, we sent 192 students for studies and 103 for training. In the academic year 15/16, 93 students were sent to study abroad. In the year 2014/15, 161 students from foreign universities, came to our University as well as an additional approx. 30 students in the supplementary Erasmus programme for Ukraine. This way, for the first time since the launch of the Erasmus programme at Poznan University of Technology, the number of outgoing and incoming students in the same academic year was almost identical. We consider it as our big success. This means in fact that our university is willingly chosen by foreign students. The sustainable mobility in both directions (outgoing/ incoming) in case of many universities in Europe is only an unattainable ideal. Achieving this state of affairs required several years of work.
As a university we put the emphasis on the internationalization of our teaching staff and the administration, therefore, we encouraged all employees of PUT to seize the opportunity of going abroad under the program Erasmus+. Eventually, more than 100 employees Poznan University of Technology went abroad under the Programme.
According to our University policy concerning the Erasmus+ Programme, in this project we identified some strategic countries in the framework of international cooperation. As in previous years, among these countries were: Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Finland. With them, mobility of students and university staff was the most intense and enjoyed the greatest interest of individual beneficiaries. A half of all outgoing mobilities from PUT has been realised to our three strategic countries: Germany, Spain and Portugal.
Foreign students staying at PUT were also involved in the activities for the local community within the framework of the Erasmus Student Network acting at our University. For students of Poznan University of Technology, who for various reasons, could not go abroad under the Erasmus+, relations with foreign students, representatives of our partner universities are also a kind of dose of internationalization, so necessary in today's reality.
Student and staff exchange in Erasmus+ significantly contributed to the internationalization of our University. The program has given a unique opportunity for both students and employees to gain intercultural competence, work in an international and multicultural environment and for their personal development. Study/training periods were for students certainly an unforgettable lesson of life. As for employees, their stay abroad allowed them to look at their workshop from a different perspective. Often returning from abroad they shared with their teams the examples of good practices observed during their visits to partner institutions, trying to implement those that have a real chance to make a difference at our University. This exchange of experiences always has a high value for people dealing with similar issues. Surely, therefore, we can say that thanks to the Erasmus+ Programme, Poznan University of Technology managed to develop methods to improve work at our University.
Courses in English appeared at our University mainly for foreign students arriving to PUT for exchange. Today there are dozens of them. Participation in the Erasmus+ makes this list goes on and on. There are also new fields of study conducted entirely in English. Both students arriving at PUT under the E+, as well as foreigners for the complete cycle of study can benefit from these programs.
An earlier collaboration with two foreign universities in the framework of student/staff exchange resulted in the creation of a double degree programs. Creating this type of programs is one of the objectives of our "Strategy for the Centenary of Poznan University of Technology, Development Strategy to 2020", adopted by the Senate of PUT on the 15th of December 2010. In this document, the following measures of internationalization of the University are indicated:
- The number of foreign students studying at the PUT,
- The number of courses taught at PUT in the English language,
- The number of programs conducted jointly with foreign entities.
Looking at these criteria, the conclusion arises automatically - the mobility of students and staff within Erasmus+ undoubtedly allows us to pursue the University strategy to increase its internationalization.