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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 Greenwich undertook a project under Key Action 103: Learning Mobility of Individuals (Higher Education Student and Staff Mobility), between 1st June 2014 and 30th September 2015. During this project the University had 88 outbound mobilities (consisting of 64 students and 24 staff), and 91 inbound mobilities (consisting of 88 students and 3 staff). We consider this project to have been very successful, both in terms of the number of outbound mobilities and in terms of the general satisfaction of both student and staff participants. The University of Greenwich has taken part in the Erasmus programme for several years, and 2014-15 saw the highest number of student mobilities that we have ever had (an increase of 35% from the previous year). This reflects an upward trend that has been ongoing for the past four years, and that we hope to continue in 2015-16. In 2014 the University published a five-year Internationalisation Strategy (?Global Greenwich?), which includes ambitious KPIs for increasing our student mobility numbers. Our participation in Erasmus+ is key to achieving these targets, and we aim to be sending 150 students on Erasmus study and traineeship placements by 2018-19. In November 2014 the University of Greenwich underwent an Erasmus Systems Check Audit by the National Agency. The Audit was successful, and the report referred to a sense of overall confidence in the management of the Erasmus programme at the University. We consider this to be a reflection on the hard work and dedication of our International Office staff and Faculty Erasmus Coordinators, and the efficient processes that we have put in place for the completion of documentation, the approval and management of inter-institutional agreements, recognition of Erasmus mobility and support services for students and staff. Although we accept that there is still some work to be done to enhance certain areas of our Erasmus provision, we are confident that we have been able to fully comply with the Erasmus Charter and provide a consistently high level of service. This project took place during a period of change at the University of Greenwich, which saw a number of structural and staffing changes. Until January 2015, the central administration of our Erasmus programme was managed by the International Partnerships Office (IPO), which was a part of the Partnership Division. Following an internal realignment, the Partnership Division ceased to exist and the IPO became part of the International Office. Around the same time, a number of staff members with direct responsibility for the Erasmus programme left the University, including the European Administrative Officer, the International Partnerships Manager and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development). While these changes unsurprisingly brought a period of instability, they also provided us with an opportunity to re-shape our Erasmus provision and increase our staff resources. In particular, in 2015 we have recruited an International Compliance and Contracts Officer, who deals with the regulatory and reporting aspects of Erasmus, and a Global Mobility Coordinator. We will shortly be recruiting a second Global Mobility Coordinator, so that one of these posts will focus on outbound mobility, and the other will focus on inbound mobility. These new posts will mean that, centrally, we will have the equivalent of 2.2 full time members of staff working on Erasmus, compared to 0.8 in June 2014. Our Mobility team has also moved from the Medway campus to the main Greenwich campus, and they are now based in a student-facing office. We consider this to be a significant improvement in terms of the support services that are available to our students. The increase in staff resources has enabled the university to place a greater emphasis on strategy, with a view to both increasing the number of Erasmus participants and enhancing the quality of the Erasmus experience at the University of Greenwich. We are currently working on an Operational Mobility Strategy, which will set out the detailed steps that we intend to take to achieve these goals. The university has also increased the frequency of our European Strategy Management Group meetings, which now take place four times per year. One key aspect that we will be focusing on in the coming year is improved promotion of Erasmus+ opportunities within the University. This will include attending University open days, student lectures and staff briefings to talk about the benefits of the Erasmus+ programme, as well as making better use of our website. We are also working to engage our returning Erasmus students and use them to help promote Erasmus and share their experiences with other students.

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