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

Context/background of the project: The University has a substantial track record in organising and supporting internationalisation projects including student and staff exchange. Canterbury Christ Church University participated in previous Erasmus programmes including the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) 2007-2013. The new International Strategy of Canterbury Christ Church University continues to recognise the importance of providing opportunities for students to travel and study in other European or international settings as part of their degree. In 2014/2015 the University ran the Erasmus+ Key Action 1 programme once again and undergraduate students from all disciplines were given the opportunity to go to study abroad as part of their undergraduate degree, as well as staff teaching mobility opportunities were made available to academic members of staff. Objectives: The objective of this project is to increase the European mobility opportunities for all students and to actively promote staff mobility and capacity to engage in European teaching, research and knowledge exchange activities. By achieving the main objective of this project, it is expected that: ? Student mobility will improve the employment prospects of new graduates, their ability to study and work across different cultures and within a diverse workforce, in the UK and internationally. ? Student and staff mobility will promote CCCU, East Kent and UK business and diplomatic interests worldwide. ? Student and staff mobility will facilitate an increase in academic collaboration between CCCU and a variety of European higher education institutions. It will also enhance the international profile of CCCU as a UK higher education of high quality, as students and staff on overseas placements are excellent ambassadors for the UK. ? Staff mobility will promote the establishment of joint research programmes, thus contributing to the sustainability of cooperation among partners and improving university staff skills and qualifications. ? Student mobility will reiterate the CCCU?s commitment to the European target that, by 2020, 20% of students across the EHEA have an international mobility experience as part of their studies. Number and type/profile of participants and description of undertaken activities: The management, delivery and supervision of Erasmus+ mobility, KA1 is organised by the International Office of CCCU. While the International Office is a central point of contact for all Erasmus+ participants, they are still supported by other professional services teams across the University when and if appropriate and always under the supervision of the International Office team. The way the Erasmus+ programme is delivered at CCCU is through the ?sandwich? year method, which is 2nd year abroad of a 3-year undergraduate programme. The scheme was promoted university-wide by organising general and subject related presentations to students by the International Office of CCCU as well as by programme directors and Erasmus+ academic leaders on school/departmental level. 25 CCCU students in total went to study abroad in 2014/2015 for the full or part of the academic year. 21 of these students went abroad on student study mobility; the remaining 4 students benefitted from the student traineeship mobility. 5 members of the CCCU academic staff benefitted from the teaching mobility in 2014/15, which was promoted via the university?s intranet network. They went to teach at new and long-standing partners for a period between 2 to 5 days. Results and impact: Students who went to study at partner institutions have demonstrated flexibility and openness to new methods of learning. Their experiences were built on the interaction with students and staff from and outside Europe, and made the students more perceptive to the similarities and difficulties of different cultures. All students claimed in informal conversations and university wide discussions to be far better informed of the international political, economic, social and cultural issues.The impact is not only on those who benefited from the programme directly, but also on the students the Erasmus+ participants interacted with by working on group projects, attending the same lectures and seminars, share residence with, etc. A significant impact was also noted in terms of improving the students' foreign language proficiency. Furthermore, staff members who went to teach at partner higher education institutions have developed innovative teaching methods that had impact on students and fellow colleagues and contributed to the wider strategic goals of the relevant school and/or faculty for internationalisation. The newly acquired skills and knowledge as a result of the mobility were also utilised in a number of research projects and while working in partnership with entities outside the University.
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