-
Home
-
European Projects
-
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
Cardiff Metropolitan University throughout the years has grown from strength to strength implementing its Internationalisation and Outward Mobility Strategy resulting in the creation of new collaborations with partners and increase in outward and inward student and staff mobility. The objective for Cardiff Metropolitan University is to integrate international, intercultural and global dimensions to enhance the students? and staffs? experience whilst studying/teaching/working at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Additionally, the University sees the importance of internationalisation in enhancing student employability and their personal and academic development, which we believe the Erasmus+ project has accomplished.
Due to the relocation of the Erasmus Key Action 103 projects and its coordinator to the International Office, the project?s promotion strategy has been developed and enhanced to allow a greater outreach to its scholars. This has been implemented through various initiatives which will be detailed further within the report.
Cardiff Metropolitan University is in the process of altering its curriculum to allow more students to participate in study and work mobilities and therefore increasing the number of outgoing scholars. For example, the Cardiff School of Art and Design has included an Erasmus study and work abroad module to their curriculum, which has allowed an increase in study mobility within Europe and which has been proved to be very popular amongst the students and the School. Moreover, all of Cardiff Metropolitan University programmes offer either 10 or 20 credits to students who participate in a work placement allowing students to transfer those credits to their course of study within Cardiff Metropolitan University. This has been seen as a positive and popular opportunity for Cardiff Metropolitan University students to mobilise.
The objective for Cardiff Metropolitan University is to promote Erasmus Key Action 103 to all outgoing students (including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who require special needs support) and staff, focusing in particular on the opportunity to provide a broader and diverse perspective academically and culturally of various European countries.
Students who mobilised within the Erasmus+ scheme received the opportunity to enhance their personal and academic development as well their curriculum vitae with the aim of improving employability either within our outside the UK. Staff mobilities through the Erasmus+ project has and is still being used to allow staff, either administrative or academic, to acquire and then deliver new working practices to colleagues, students and to Cardiff Metropolitan University in general. Administrative staff underwent job shadowing/training at a partner university, whereas academic staff were required to deliver a minimum of 8 teaching hours to European students at a partner university.
In academic year 2014/15 both student and staff numbers significantly increased in comparison to previous years, which is a great success for Cardiff Metropolitan University. The increase is due to the fact that the project was heavily promoted and the interest of both student and staff to mobilise has thrived within Europe and within Cardiff Metropolitan University. An additional objective was to promote Erasmus+ to Cardiff Metropolitan University?s academic staff members, in order to demonstrate how Erasmus can operate effectively and efficiently within their schools and for their students, with the aim to increase outgoing student and staff numbers on an annual basis.
Liaising with key contacts in Schools, giving them knowledge of the project and gaining their trust that the project will be professionally and efficiently managed is also a reason for the increase in the numbers of student and staff mobility.
For academic year 2014/15, Cardiff Metropolitan University has awarded 8 study mobilities, 11 internships, 11 academic staff mobilities and 4 administrative staff mobilities to various European countries which reflects a wide distribution of destinations. Statistics have demonstrated that students who have participated in a form of mobility, either study or work, whilst studying at Cardiff Metropolitan University, have increased their performance, grades and confidence with a number of students graduating with a first class honours degree.
Looking at the long term objectives of Cardiff Metropolitan University strategy we would be looking at increasing even further the number of outgoing students by promoting the project to other target groups such as Higher Education colleges, 6th form schools and holding extra student events and presenting to programme cohorts. Overall, for academic year 14/15 Cardiff Metropolitan University are satisfied with the results of mobilities, but nevertheless will be looking at increasing this year on year.