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Description
The Charles University, Faculty of Arts - EEA Grant Exchanges project will be carried out by the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, in cooperation with three institutions from the donor states: University of Iceland, University of Bergen and University of Oslo. It is based on previous successful cooperation between the Faculty of Arts, as the project promoter, and its partner institutions within the Erasmus+ programme. The primary objectives of the project are to enhance the knowledge base of Faculty of Arts students through mobility to donor countries, as well as to support the professional development of teachers and staff by providing experience lecturing and observing teaching in an international context. Additionally, the project aims to strengthen bilateral relations between the Faculty of Arts and institutions in donor countries, as well as to increase awareness of EEA grants.
The project consists of 20 individual mobilities and 32 mobilities to be carried out within two sessions of an intensive course organized jointly by the Faculty of Arts and the University of Bergen. Much of this project is aimed at enhancing academic capacity in the fields of Information Science and Librarianship, Medieval Studies, Ethnology, Sociology, and Philosophy. In addition to student mobility, the project entails a series of staff mobilities, aimed both at broadening students´ knowledge and at honing the teaching skills of lecturers from the Faculty of Arts (including graduate students who intend to pursue careers in academia).
The immediate benefits of this project include improvement in participants´ research or teaching skills through exposure to a different cultural and academic atmosphere, as well as greater ties between all of the involved parties. Long-term, the hope is that lasting cooperation will continue to advance academic achievement and broaden students´ horizons.
Summary of project results
This mobility project was carried out by the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, in cooperation with three institutions from the donor states: University of Iceland, University of Bergen and University of Oslo. Its main purpose was to encourage students and teachers from the Czech higher education institution to study and teach in the donor states to gain a wider knowledge and understanding of a different academic environment and cultural milieu, consequently enhancing their own contributions to social changes within Europe and in the Czech Republic in particular. Despite the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the international exchange, a total of five students successfully participated in the semestral exchange between Charles University and its partners. Moreover, the project enabled one PhD candidate to carry out a research stay at the University of Bergen. As for the staff exchange, seven teachers and administrative staff members in total successfully fulfilled mobilities in person, and one performed the teaching mobility via online platform. The immediate impact of the project on the students is that the study abroad experience contributed to the fulfilment of their study requirements and finalization of their studies. The further result of the project is the improvement of students’ key competences and skills and strengthening their motivation to pursue careers in the area of education. An added value of the project was that it enabled a student with special needs to study in Iceland, which would have otherwise been impossible. The immediate impact of the project on the staff was the improvement of their competences in line with their professional profiles and increased capacity to initiate changes within their area of work. The project strengthened bilateral relations and fostered closer cooperation between partners that will have a long-term impact on subsequent joint activities such as workshops, conferences, joint research, and possibly a joint degree in the future.
Summary of bilateral results
Having a donor project partner helped us to be part of international project with our current Erasmus+ partner universities, we have deepened our international relations, and this will lead to better smoother negotiations in the future cooperation. It enriched the study abroad educational opportunities in a broader range of fields offer of the various types of mobilities opened to our students at all types of study. The main results from a bilateral level were shared experiences, job shadowing, learning processes and working structures on both sides, improvement of knowledge and establishing personal contacts. Thanks to the project we have submitted EEA grant proposal within the subsequent calls in 2020 and 2021.