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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
This project is at the heart of Abertay University's exchange and study abroad programme. In the context of our new 2014 Internationalisation Strategy, Abertay strives to increase inward and outward mobility of students and staff in order to internationalise our campus and the student experience. We aim to provide every student with an opportunity to gain international experience, and providing affordable options is particularly important as Abertay is at the forefront in terms of admitting students from less advantaged backgrounds; thirty-five percent of our undergraduates come from the 40 per cent most deprived postcodes in Scotland. Erasmus+ offers our students the opportunity to study or work abroad within a well-supported framework while receiving a non-repayable grant. In order to provide students with different options to gain international experience, Abertay promotes student mobilities for studies and for traineeships. Short-term mobilities such as traineeships have become more popular with students in recent years. We also strive to give staff the opportunity to gain international experience for example by teaching abroad or exchanging best practices with international partners, and we can observe that staff implement this experience into their own teaching or field of work. This increases the quality of our teaching and research. In addition, staff with international experience are the main motivators for students to study or work abroad.
Abertay concentrates on strengthening existing Erasmus+ partnerships by regular student exchange and staff visits, as well as identifying new Erasmus+ partners in areas where we have not yet been able to satisfy student demand. At the same time, the aim is to increase student demand by advertising the Erasmus+ programme, in particular in underrepresented subject areas such as the STEM subjects.
As one of the smallest universities in Scotland, numbers of incoming and outgoing students are relatively small, however we are committed to increasing these numbers substantially. 2014/15 was a difficult year in which numbers decreased as compared to 2013/14, however in 2015/16 numbers have risen above the 2013/14 levels which signifies an overall upward trend. Participants were typically from Business, Law and Social Sciences. Abertay is committed to increase opportunities for students from STEM subjects and has made significant progress towards this goal. As Abertay's student population includes a large number of EU students and these students are generally more mobile than British students, up to half of all participants are students from other EU countries.
The Abertay International Office supports students throughout the entire Eramus+ cycle. We advertise the programme through our website, social media, lecture shouts, promotional material and our annual Abertay Goes Global week as well as during open days and applicant days and provide assistance throughout the inquiry and application process, a pre-departure orientation and advise students during and after the mobility. We also concentrate on building relationships with and supporting members of academic staff who are particularly engaged in advertising the Erasmus+ programme. Information for incoming students and administration of the application process is also provided by the International Office, while student support for incoming students on campus is provided by the Advisory Team in our Student Services. The Advisory Team also organises an international student welcome at the start of each semester introducing students to life in Dundee, including information on health and safety, and offers events and trips for international students.
Regular partner visits as well as meetings with Erasmus+ partners at international education conferences such as EAIE and NAFSA are essential for maintaining the quality of our Erasmus+ partnerships. The Abertay International Office strives to visit each partner university at least every three years. During visits, International Office staff meet not only with International Office staff and students at the partner institution, but also student services representatives such as counsellors and disability advisors.
During recent years and in conjunction with our Internationalisation Strategy, the Erasmus+ programme has become more prominent in our institution and student body. Due to increased promotion activities and an emphasis on strong relationships with lecturers who are main motivators for students to study or work abroad, students and staff throughout the University have gained an increased awareness of the programme as evidenced by a rise in student and staff inquiries. Abertay is confident there will be long-term benefits to our students not only personally and academically, but also with respect to employment prospects. We support this through close collaboration between the International Office and our Career Services.