How participation in the Erasmus Programme fits into UiA's institutional and modernisation strategy:
Internationalisation is firmly anchored in the university's academic culture and permeates our institutional strategy. In the current strategy document Global Mindset is defined as one of three focus areas. Increased internationalisation in general and student exchange in particular, are one of the key objectives with regard to education. The university's new leadership has clearly stated that strengthening our ties with European universities and establishing a stronger link between educational and research activities will be emphasized in the coming years.
The University of Agder is currently working on its new strategy for the period 2021-2024. The new strategy will be adopted by the University Board in June 2020. Internationalisation at home and abroad is a key point in the new strategy, which will be followed up with a detailed plan of action to be adopted by the University Board towards the end of 2020.
Taking part in the Erasmus programme will be important for the achievement of many of our strategic objectives. Our new strategy document describes the following key elements of our academic culture: academic freedom, diversity and sustainable development. All three elements will be guiding principles for our approach to internationalisation in the years to come. We aim to collaborate with partners who share these ideals and will contribute to them in various ways. In order to foster academic freedom, we wish to enter into collaborations which meet our requirements with regard to ethical reflection, and which will contribute to boldness and creativity in our study programmes with regard to both content and pedagogy.
In order to achieve more diversity, we to seek to increase the number of international students from all backgrounds on our campuses and to ensure that they are well-integrated into the student body. In order to reinforce our commitment to sustainable development, we seek to collaborate with institutions that work actively towards the sustainable development goals through their study programmes and the running of their institutions. We also wish to increase the number of exchange agreements with institutions that are geographically close as to allow our students to reach their destinations using environmentally friendly means of transportation.
The University of Agder's vision is co-creation of knowledge for the future. We are committed to creating an environment where students, faculty and external partners (from the public sector, the private sector and non-governmental institutions) challenge each other mutually with the aim of finding better solutions to societal problems. As a result, we work actively to involve students in research projects with external partners. This vision also applies to our internationalisation strategy. We seek to bridge the gap between research and education by ensuring a good match between institutions we collaborate with in research projects and in educational projects. In addition, we wish to involve our external partners in our international projects, participate in international projects initiated by our external partners, and to join forces to develop new international projects.
In our new strategy six interdisciplinary topic areas have been identified and will be integrated into work on both education, research and innovation: technology in a changing society, green transition, democracy and active citizenship, health and living conditions, learning and development in cultural contexts, art in society. These topic areas will also be prioritized when it comes to international collaboration.
All the different actions in the Erasmus programme, student, faculty and staff mobility, as well as partnership projects, will contribute to improving the quality of our university as a whole and to better prepare us for the challenges of the future.
How our participation in these actions will contribute to achieving the objectives of our institutional strategy Mobility activities:
- The University of Agder (UiA) has increased the number of mobilities every year during the current Erasmus+ programme, to and from Europe and also Global Mobility, and we will continue our strategic effort to further increase the number of outgoing and incoming students and staff, both within the EU and outside.
- We have had an increase in mobilities for traineeship and will continue to promote this area, increasing the opportunities for traineeship placements during the studies, as well as after graduation. This is in line with UiA' s strategy of more internships and closer cooperation with external partners.
- We will endorse and implement new online tools.
- The University of Agder will promote student and staff mobility to our students and staff/teachers through different channels, including informative and user-friendly webpages, in newsletters and in various forms of face-to-face meetings.
- We will strive to increase incoming mobility both for students and staff by providing up-to-date information online, meeting partners face-to-face at international conferences and keeping a tight dialogue with new and existing partners.
- The new possibility of blended mobility should also help to increase the number of students experiencing mobility and increase the possibilities for international learning for an increased student body.
Professional management
All faculties have developed or are in the process of developing their own international strategy and the faculties acknowledge the value of having several strategic partners they cooperate with on different levels, including student mobility, joint research, teacher exchange and professional development.
UiA has two Erasmus coordinators, one institutional and one for KA2 projects. In addition, we have a team of five centrally based international coordinators and several faculty-based international coordinators, all very experienced, who jointly ensure that all incoming and outgoing exchange students are supported before, during and after their exchange period.
Inclusive internationalisation
UiA aims to be an inviting and inclusive host for Norwegian and international students as well as for employees and cooperation partners. We actively promote international mobility and experiences when recruiting new students (for example, at University Open Days and through our recruitment ambassadors). Once the students have started, we use multiple avenues to inform them about the opportunities: at the welcome meetings during the semester start week, through our network of departmental co-ordinators, through general and course specific presentations, career days and our bi-annual Global Village. We have successfully enabled both incoming and outgoing students with different disabilities to participate in an Erasmus exchange through planning and close cooperation with several partners. We will build on these experiences to enhance and develop inclusive policies and practices in regard to all aspects of mobility.
UiA shall invite to an international environment for learning - and co-creation. All our study programmes will therefore comprise both Norwegian and global perspectives and include possibilities for student exchange. Most of our master programmes are taught in English, but the university recently committed itself to developing several bachelor level degrees in English, which we expect will attract an increasingly international student population.
We have been successful in obtaining funding for several Global Mobility projects in Erasmus+. Hosting students through Global Mobility enriches the study environment and diversifies the international student body. Incoming students receive extra funding from the Organisational Support funds to secure a more inclusive recruitment of students from all backgrounds and ensures that insurance and visa costs are not an obstacle for the possibility to go abroad.
We focus on the integration of international students with the local students and have recently formalised a closer cooperation between UiA's Norwegian Buddy organisation and the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). The students who chose to join a Norwegian buddy group with students from their study programme, evaluated the experience as a very positive step towards better integration, and such joint activities and opportunities will be extended further in 2021 and beyond.
We will, in cooperation with our housing office, ESN and other relevant parties, work out a plan to implement blended mobility at UiA and ensure that participants receive the same service, treatment and have the same opportunities as domestic students/staff andfull-time mobility participants.
For short term visiting staff and faculty we offer guest services in our Global Lounge, campus tours from our interns, information sessions from different units and we strive to be an inclusive and professional host. For faculty coming for longer periods, the HR department at UiA has developed many onboarding facilities, connecting relevant services from the region in combination with information and courses that raise cultural awareness, foster diversity and facilitate for networking. Approximately 20% of the employees are international. UiA strives to be an attractive partner and employer and believe that the quality and increased strategic use of staff mobility in Erasmus+ this can contribute to achieving our strategic goals.
UiAs strategy for the organisation and implementation of international cooperation projects:
The University of Agder (UiA) shall offer education and disseminate knowledge as well as carry out research and artistic development work at a high international level. One of our main priority areas is Global Mindset which aims to strengthen our international profile and our position as an attractive partner for cooperation.
The university shall integrate global issues in research and contribute to solving global challenges. We will encourage cooperation, dialogue, and mutual cultural development, and acknowledge that cooperation projects in KA2 will help us achieve our institutional goals.
We are convinced that increased participation in these programs will not only generate positive impact on the development in our education, and the establishment of networks, it will also in the medium-term allow UiA to be a more visible player in transnational and interdisciplinary projects which contribute to building the European Research and Educational Area - of which we are part.
Management and implementation
UiA has increased its effort towards involvement in the EU programmes, including information sharing at all levels, and open meetings about the funding opportunities in EU. In 2019, a study tour to Brussels was organised with the participation of university and faculty management, as well as administrative staff from the Division of Research Management and the Division of Student and Academic Affairs. With the acquired knowledge, all faculties have developed a 4-year action plan for education and research within the EU programmes. Quality routines have been further developed to secure a management structure starting with the application process and ending with the final reporting of projects, involving project support from all relevant units, management commitment and administrative contact persons at the faculties. New routines will also include the dissemination of results at the institutional level, aiming to create an increased culture for sharing and learning.
Knowledge triangle and co-creation
We see the potential in strengthening the knowledge triangle and increasing the synergies between research and education at UiA. Co-creation is founded as a vision in our strategy, and projects such as Partnerships for Cooperation and exchanges of practices and Partnerships for Innovation will contribute to an even stronger involvement and cooperation from external partners, and especially in the region where we see a big interest in working together with UiA to find new solutions to societal problems. With quality partners in international networks, UiA can contribute through Erasmus+ to increase internationalisation and development in the region, in line with our strategy. Our long-term vision is that there is a cultural shift amongst our faculty members - in a self-determined and reflected manner - to regard funding applications in both research and education as important complementary elements of innovation in the academic sector.
UiA has strong and long-term existing partners in other parts of the world, and within the opportunities in KA2 we will seek to further develop projects and include them in Erasmus+.
UiA will work towards developing partnerships (e.g. university alliances and networks) that promote effective interest representation both at national and European level and will consider appropriate calls, such as the one for 'European Universities'.
UiA has been part of two Nordic joint degrees and has recently been awarded a large grant from the Ministry ofForeign Affairs to develop an interdisciplinary Master' s degree in Sustainability Management to be taught in Indonesia with students from Asia and Europe. The degree was approved as a joint degree with UiA in May 2020 and we aim to eventually use the knowledge and resources to establish other joint educational programmes. Such programmes will further the student's opportunities and make them equipped to compete in the global job market.
Support to policy development and cooperation
During the recent years UiA has increased its involvement in cooperation projects in Erasmus+. Through a strategic exchange of experiences in the current project portfolio, we will seek to encourage relevant academic environments to utilise their networks and become involved in projects concerning support to policy development and cooperation.
In our strategy it is stated that strategic partners will be established to support our priority areas within education and research. Through projects in KA3, UiA can take part in developing innovative policy approaches, contributing to the development of the educational area in co-creation with relevant partners and stakeholders.
Envisaged impact of our participation in the Erasmus+:
Improved quality of our international partnerships and increased interdisciplinarity
We will establish strategic partnerships to foster deep and long-term collaboration. We are in the process of reviewing all our inter-institutional agreements at both faculty and institutional level, which will be completed by the end of 2021. During this process, the faculties will identify strategic partners to secure that their partner agreements are relevant to their study programs.
A project to identify multidisciplinary strategic partners has been initiated and the aim is to find potential for closer collaboration in both education and research, also across faculties. We have identified some partners with a very good match across different disciplines which coincide with UiA's priorities both for research and education and will aim to develop these collaborations further in the new programme. By carrying out a systematic review of all collaborations, synergies can be found and utilized much better.
Increased involvement in project opportunities across all faculties, securing UiA's engagement in the development of the European educational and research area
The Faculties have all made EU action plans (Spring 2020), and UiA will support the faculties' ambitions in their individual action plans for EU-funding. The institutional project support team will invite all faculty/units to workshops and information sessions about the new Erasmus+ Framework Programme and Horizon Europe for all faculties/units by end of 2022. We will encourage collaboration that encompasses both education and research.
By engaging in more cooperative projects linking higher education, research and businesses, we believe this will have an impact on e.g. innovation, knowledge transfer, research, quality and development of new methods and processes.
To enhance the quality and visibility of our international activities, we will create a new webpage with information about the projects, following up with updates also after the projects are completed with focus on the long-term impact. An annual newsletter from Rector to the institution will also refer to this webpage for staff to become more aware. We will also organise open information sessions sharing experiences and results from ongoing and completed projects, securing dissemination of information across the faculties and opening up for more interdisciplinary cooperation.
Increased incoming and outgoing student mobility
Student mobility at UiA within the Erasmus+ framework has almost doubled since 2016. In the next period we are committed to follow up on each faculty's plan of action that are in line with the University strategy. Each faculty will by end of 2021 set their targets for student mobility and these will need to reflect the goals set by the national government and funding schemes.
During the next programme period we also aim to increase the number of students that carry out a traineeship period abroad. This strengthens the employability possibilities for our students, preparing them for the global market and increases our involvement with relevant organisations and enterprises. UiA will also seek to increase the possibilities further at UiA and in the local region for incoming students to take part in a traineeship. Involving international students in the working environment at UiA is an enrichment both to staff and students and gives us the opportunity to contribute to language learning, cooperation and exchange of best practices.
Incoming students contributes to a dynamic learning environment and supports the internationalisation at home. Incoming students also constitutes an important source of recruitment of talented researchers, and and we will further promote the opportunities for research and collaboration with UiA for our incoming students. We already have a large number of courses in English in our curriculae,,but will continue securing that relevant courses will be available for an increased international student population in all study fields.
Increased satisfaction among our incoming and outgoing students
The University of Agder has had a pleasing 85% satisfaction rate for both incoming and outgoing students.
We will continue to evaluate our services and execute student surveys every semester (EU-survey for outgoing students and survey developed by UiA for incoming students) and aim to stay above the 85% satisfaction rate.
We continuously review our routines for evaluation practices and use of online solutions to assist the students before, during and after their mobility. We will be implementing the online solutions as part of the Erasmus Student Card Initiative and according to the suggested timeline.
More strategic and increased use of faculty mobility for teaching/training
The university will work strategically to promote staff mobility to all staff, and will ensure that the Head of Departments and Faculties encourage their staff to use the possibilities in Erasmus+ mobility. Increased staff mobility will impact the education and research, improving teaching competence and relevance.
We are committed to assisting our early career researchers in developing international networks and international work experience.
Our PhD programmes will be used as a driving force for international collaboration, recruitment, and staff mobility through joint supervision of PhD projects and research collaboration.
Moreover, UiA supports and acknowledges the benefits of international mobility among the administrative staff. Administrative staff on all levels and in all parts of the university are encouraged to engage in international activities and to take part in training activities abroad.
Increased employment opportunities for students and staff:
To assist our students and staff in becoming global citizens, we will support talented staff and students by providing them with more opportunities to gain additional skills through study or training abroad, through the full exploitation of the study abroad opportunities covered by the Erasmus+ programme and beyond with a particular focus on mobility within networks of excellence and our established international partnerships.
UiA will work to increase the number of strategic alliances with local and international companies as well as the public sector to give the students advantages in the labour market. We want more students to gain both more local and more international work experience through internships in our Erasmus+ network, both during and after their degree. We will also work to reinforce student`s relationships with external parties through Master Thesis, PhD projects and joint projects.
We have established an Alumni network and encourage all of our students to participate to keep in touch and get professional updates through a range of alumni events – on campus and in major cities in Europe and around the world. It is a great opportunity to continue building the students professional network, and to share knowledge and employment opportunities across the community.