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Description
"Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu (LBUS) Internationalization Strategy is developed to support the following directions: curricula enhancement, research, learning and teaching activities, institutional development as well as students and academic staff mobilities.
At the same time the university strives to assure internationalization at-home for non-mobile students by creating an international environment through incoming professors, academic staff and students. By doing this, the non-mobile students will gain more experience regarding internationalization, they will develop and improve their soft skills and they increase their chances of employability. The main objectives of the mobility project are:
- to enable students to benefit educationally, linguistically and culturally from the experience of learning in donor states;
- to promote co-operation between institutions and to enrich the educational environment of host institutions;
- to contribute to the development of a pool of well-qualified, open-minded and internationally experienced young people as future professionals.
Enlargement of mobility programs will foster internationalization for all beneficiaries, adding quality improvement to curricula and helping create more innovative and flexible learning environments. Direct beneficiaries will be students, in all cycles of studies, who will have the chance to experience a new study and practice environment, which will ensure a smoother inclusion on the labor market. Also academic staffs, both teachers and administrative staffs, will experience new methods of teaching and job shadowing, having the opportunity afterwards to use the acquired knowledge in their future career and activities. The roles of the partners will be to provide relevant support to staff and students participating in the mobilities and to ensure that the cooperation will lead to sustainable and balanced outcomes for all the involved partners.
Summary of project results
The objective of project implemented at Lucian Blaga University (LBUS) was to create sustainable networks and to enhance the international cooperation capacity between universities from EEA states, through the academic mobility, the improvement of transparency and recognition of studies and also through the improvement of staff skills and qualifications.
For a good implementation of the project, the following activities were undertaken:
- promotion and dissemination of the mobility opportunities offered through the project,
- organisation of the selection procedures for all types of mobilities ( SMS - student mobility for studies, SMP- student mobility for placements, STA- staff teaching assignments, STT- staff training mobility).
- nomination of the beneficiaries to the donor states partner universities
- organisation, in cooperation with the NO partners, of the beneficiaries mobilities
- organisation of Info sessions for beneficiaries
For the available students mobility flows, 3 students followed study mobilities at the partner Norwegian universities. One student started the SMS mobility in the first semester of the academic year and extended the mobility period for the second semester as well. The other two students followed the SMS mobility, during the second semester of the academic year.
Due the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the SMS mobilities have been affected and registered as Force Majeures. Despite this situation students were able to fulfil their academic requirements and gain a great academic and personal experience.
Also, 14 academic and administrative staff have been involved in Staff Training mobilities (STT) at partner Norwegian universities.
Due to students’ reticence (high livings costs) in applying for mobilities in EEA states, less students than the number approved in the financial agreement, showed interest for outgoing study mobilities.
LBUS aimed at increasing the number of mobilities of teachers and students in all three cycles, for study and placement. Thus, the proposed number of STT mobilities aimed to identify new collaboration opportunities for students exchanges, both outgoing and incoming, to develop new bilateral collaboration on new study fields.
Summary of bilateral results
The partnership project encouraged and facilitated a very close cooperation between LBUS and EEA donor state partners for the best implementation of the mobility project, in order to achieve the mentioned objectives of the project. The role of the partners was to provide relevant support to staff and students participating in the mobilities and to ensure that the cooperation will lead to sustainable and balanced outcomes for all the involved partners.Partnership ensured a fruitful cooperation of mutual benefit and strengthened the bilateral relations between Romania and donor states, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.One of the main goals of LBUS is the internationalization of studies and through the bilateral partnership, LBUS strived to keep up with the EU education development, in order for students to have the best conditions to reach for contemporary European education, which would assure an easier future integration on the labour market.Within the bilateral partnership a great variety of activities were undertaken in order to improve curricula and introduce new topics and courses through transnational collaboration between universities.