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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
Tio University of Applied Sciences has been working hard last couple of years to establish a growth in the awareness and numbers of student mobility. This effort seems to be paying off as the outgoing, and incoming, numbers of students are rising. In order to support the Erasmus programme and students better, an International Office (including a new coordinator) has been formed within the structure of Tio.
Activities
The last couple of months there have been various developments within the Internationalisation of the curriculum of Tio. An International office has been formed in order to be able to offer more personal attention to students willing to go on a mobility period, and continuing to professionalise the processes and marketing of studying abroad.
When starting with the official name of an International Office, a lot of items have been renewed and reviewed. There is a new Exchange Guide, and the exchange website had an update with new partners, information and a the nessecary Eramus+ information. A new mobility program for online registration will be implemented and new factsheets and modulesheets have been developed in order to provide the student with clear and concise information. The internal Blackboard page has been filled with all information of our partner universities, inclusind gfactsheets, courses and an approved ECTS conversion sheet for all partners.
The coordinator of the International Office is attending all the events of Tio, promoting the Study abroad possibilities. Events like Open-Days, Career Event and Welcoming Days are visited, and if possible a presentation is given to attending students. On the Tio locations more time and effort is put into the promotion of the study abroad possibilities by providing more information to students about the Minor International Exchange. All students will recieve several presenations about the possibilities before they have to make their final minor choice (starting in year one, all the way up to year three).
Objectives
The objectives for the student and staff mobility within Tio are high. A growing number of students is expected for the coming years to enroll for the minor International exchange, and as a part of the new HRM strategy based upon competence management, the staff mobility will be enhanced even more.
The objective to reach a percentage of 25% of students going on a study mobility period was overtaken by 1% (total of 26%) and shows growth over the last years. Because of the possibilities of the Erasmus+ Grant, a lot of student choose an university within Europe for their mobility, which stretches the limits of the awarded grant to Tio by the European Union. If the objectives for Tio stay this high, and the numbers keep on growing like this, we will need to be very keen on the awarded amount of the grant for the coming years. A new clear manual with additional guidelines has been published for the students, as well as starting with a new registration process.
Participants
The participants in both the study and traineeship mobility are currently HBO / Bachelor students of Tio in their first or (mainly) third year. Their internship possibilities are after their first and second year of studies, and the minor possibility is for most students in their third year.
Participants attending the study abroad minor are highly motivated and selected for their prefered partner university upon study results, motivation and obtained ECTS so far.
New participants in the form of new partners are added to the network after a complete check and review within Tio. Following a set checklist several points of interest are checked, as well as the offered courses to our Tio students. Several colleagues form different departments help decide upon adding a new partner to our network. This enhances the involvement of all departments within Tio.
Results
The results of the projects have been promising so far, and look even more promising for the coming years. New first year students are told about the study abroad options in their second month of studies already and are all very enthusiastic. The new partners, and information provided online, seems to be working well and Tio might need to expand the network soon in order to have enough spaces available to host all our outgoing students (continously ongoing proces).
Students who have attended a minor abroad or did an international internship return to Tio with a more mature attitude and developed skill set for intercutlural communication. We see students returning who have seen and understood another culture and part of the world. Taking that with them into the rest of their lives and working career. We are using these students as 'international ambassadors' for presentations and open days to make more students and potential students enthusiastic for the international opportunities of Tio studies.