1) Context/background Hasselt University (UHasselt) is an independent innovative university, which is regionally anchored and has a pronounced international orientation. In the education and research positioning of Hasselt University, the international quantifier plays an obvious and natural role: Hasselt University aims to be a creative node in an international knowledge and innovation web for its students, researchers and other stakeholders. Hasselt University is innovative, result-oriented, open, social and international but at the same time has a regional base. Hasselt University aims to prepare her students for increasingly rapidly evolving professional careers in an ever globalising context. That’s why Hasselt University offers her students a broad academic development with attention to a wide range of employability skills. Within this package, international experience is vital. Therefore, Hasselt University stimulates her students and staff members to participate in exchange programmes and simultaneously aims to offer an attractive and open campus to international students and staff. This completed Erasmus+ key action 1 mobility project perfectly fit within the internationalisation strategy of Hasselt University and contributed to the achievement of the objectives defined in her internationalisation policy plan and the Erasmus Policy Statement. 2) Objectives As stated in the EPS, one of the main objectives of the project was to promote and support international mobility activities and to increase the mobility of students and staff of Hasselt University. Furthermore, through participation in this project, UHasselt aimed to: - actively contribute to the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy (flagship initiative “youth on the move”), more specifically by encouraging students and trainees to study abroad and by aspiring to reach the 20% student mobility target by 2020; - actively contribute to the objectives of the ET 2020 strategy, more specifically by improving the level of key competences and skills (including employability skills, foreign language competences, intercultural and communications skills, social and civic competences, etc.) as well as career prospects of students and staff, with particular regard to their relevance for the labour market and their contribution to a cohesive society, and by making lifelong learning and mobility a reality (always respecting the European Quality Charter for Mobility); - further develop an extensive international network and enhance participation in European and international cooperation projects in order to strengthen her collaboration with other higher education institutions and other stakeholders. 3) Participants & activities This mobility project comprised the following activities: - student mobility for studies - student mobility for traineeships - staff mobility for teaching In total 72 students participated in the project (19 for traineeships, 53 for study), who on average stayed 3 months and 29 days. Furthermore, 9 staff members participated for teaching activities and stayed on average 5 days. During the activities, UHasselt ensured the principles set out in the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education were respected for all participants before, during and after the mobility (e.g. by preparing the outgoing participants and offering support for incoming participants on all levels (academic, linguistic, practical, intercultural), by ensuring the necessary documents (learning/teaching agreements) were completed and signed in due time, by giving recognition for the abroad activities, by ensuring equal treatment and facilities for all participants on all levels, etc.). 4) Results, impact and benefits: Thanks to this project, UHasselt increased her mobility of students and staff and is one step closer to reaching the student mobility target by 2020. Furthermore, the participants within the project acquired specific transversal competences improving not only their personal development (self-empowerment, increased sense of initiative and entrepreneurship), but also their employability and foreign language skills. UHasselt also enhanced her cooperation with European partner institutions, not only with higher education institutions but also with enterprises (through student mobility for traineeships). Furthermore, the university as a whole increased her capacity to operate at an international level and to interact with the different target groups, being incoming students and staff, as well as outgoing students and staff (e.g. through the creation “international platform”, a platform for real life exchanges between cultures and for the organisation of activities with the goal of raising awareness about issues related to internationalisation). The participation in this project had several benefits for UHasselt, including new opportunities to build networks of international partners as well as opportunities to enhance her visibility and attractiveness.