More information
Description
The Latvian Academy of Culture has had sub-programmes in Scandinavian languages and culture since its establishment in 1990 (in the academic year 2020/2021 there are specialization "Intercultural Relations between Latvia and Nordic Countries"), therefore cooperation with Scandinavian countries has always been one of the Academy''s key priorities. The internationalization of students and academic staff is also the first priority point in the Academy''s Internationalization Plan, which is a part of the Strategy. The mobility project will involve 4 students from the Latvian Academy of Culture and 3 Universities: the Latvian Academy of Culture, the University of Akureyri and the Volda University College. The aim of the project is to give an opportunity to four students (BA or MA level) of the Latvian Academy of Culture to spend a semester at the foreign university (University of Akureyri and Volda University College). If the project is approved, it is planned to start in September 2021 with the competion for students. The project time schedule is described in detail in the Annex 2. The partners participating in the project are long-standing partners. We have been regularly organizing student mobility within the Erasmus+ programme and the EEA activity “Scholarships” for more than 10 years and will continue to do so.
Summary of project results
The main goal of the project was to enable students (in total eight students) as well as the Latvian Academy of Culture to spend a semester at the partner Universities - Volda University College and the University of Akureyri, both are our long-standing partners also within the Erasmus+ Programme. The project will also include one staff mobility to Volda University College, where the participant participated in the International Week and exhibition organized by the University.
First, we agreed with the partners how many students they were willing to accept per semester so that we could plan the exact number and flows in the project application.
After the project was approved, the next step was to organize a competition for Academy students. The candidates were selected by the Board of the Study program according to the following criteria:
1) rating of the Head of the sub-program (0-30 points);
2) the average grade (0-20 points);
3) the student''s knowledge of foreign language (0-20 points);
4) motivation letter (0-20 points);
5) the student''s scientific or creative capacity (0-10 points).
The maximum possible number of points - 100 points.
Several streams were organized at both partner Universities and a separate competition was organized for each.
Before starting the mobilities, we took several steps and signed the following agreements:
1) Partnership agreements with both Universities;
2) Learning agreements with students and the host Universities;
3) Grant agreements with students.
After students returned from their host universities, we equated ECTS credits based on the Transcript of Records issued by the partner Universities.
One staff mobility was organized during the final phase of the project when our employee went to Volda University College. During International Week, our administrative staff had the opportunity to get to know our long-term partners in person and learn about their study programs, facilities, lecturers, and new courses offered to exchange students. This information was collected and discussed with colleagues at the Academy. The employee also participated in an international exhibition, where met local students and told them about the Academy and study opportunities at the Academy.
As a result of mobility, eight students were able to improve their knowledge of Scandinavian languages and English, find materials in the libraries for their bachelor''s papers, as well as to attend specific courses that are not available at the Academy. We hope that all these benefits will later help students to find a job more successfully after graduation and to enter the international labor market more easily. Staff participation in International Week has strengthened our cooperation with the Volda University College and allowed us to learn more about the course offerings for foreign students, as well as promote the Academy to students at the partner University. The implementation of the project also helped to implement the goals set in the Academy''s Strategy regarding internationalization.
Summary of bilateral results
Thanks to the project, student and staff mobility was promoted. The implementation of the project helped to achieve the goals set also in the Academy''s Strategy regarding internationalization.We will certainly continue cooperation with the Volda University College and the University of Akureyri within the Erasmus+ program and other projects.