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Description
It is within our university main objective to internationalize the university system and sits within the government main agenda. We strongly believe that the higher educational systems of all involved parties will benefit from an international partnership.
We currently undergo a universal internationalization movement backed up by a strong wish coming from our students to study abroad at different universities. They realize that in this interconnected world, where everything crosses the national borders. Therefore, in order to succeed they should experience with different educational systems and benefit from a wide perspective. Thus we have to do everything within our power to support them, in their development. Moreover, our student experience even at home will benefit from this partnership as, it offers a possibility for the SNSPA academics as well to interact with fellow academics from different universities and share best practices, collaborate on different projects, namely research papers, shared curriculum or summer schools, and enhance the student experience.
SNSPA has always been interested in promoting this area and therefore encouraged more and more mobility projects. Thus we believe that the EEA grants opportunity which presented itself is a real chance to meet our students’ expectation and further increase the number of study and placement mobilities with partner countries that can only enhance the level of knowledge of those benefiting from the EEA grants.
Summary of project results
It has always been our challenge to identify the best solutions to the complex social problems facing the modern society, so SNSPA has fought, since the beginning, for a model of inter-institutional cooperation based on strengthening the global academic dialogue, research and social responsibility. One pillar of SNSPA’s mission is to provide trained specialists in governance. This mission is carried out by ensuring the development of transversal and specialized skills, comparable to those offered by the most prestigious universities in the world. Moreover, a strategic priority for SNSPA is the internationalization of its study programs, research and teaching activities. In this sense, partnership with renowned organizations for multi-cultural inter-university dialogue, such as USN Norway, along which we have first applied for EEA grants, and our partners from Iceland (University of Iceland and Reykjavík University).
All 4 partners agreed to cooperate and support the beneficiaries and the activities planned within the project and to respect the principles and conditions of the EEA Grants guidelines. The project started with only two partners (USN and Rejkjavik University) and in April 2022, the third partner was added (University of Iceland).
First, there is a need for underlining the objectives of the mobility project: increase the number of students’ and professors’ mobility between partners; raise participants’ awareness and understanding of new cultural experiences; support students in reaching better learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competences; enhance the participants’ foreign languages competence; strengthen the institutional cooperation in higher education thus establishing structured, intensive and long-term cooperation and ensure a better recognition of competences and skills gained through the learning periods abroad. The project ended with 16 outgoing mobility and 5 incoming mobilities for staff (professors and administrative), and no mobility for students caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the selection for students was organized twice for 4 available mobilities, and though the second round managed to select two students the difference in the year structure forced us to cancel them as the partner had already began the second semester and the students wouldn’t have been able to have the full academic experience, not to mention access the accommodation facilities that have an early application deadline.
Summary of bilateral results
In this fast changing environment, SNSPA has always found important to promote this area and therefore encouraged more and more mobility projects. Thus we believe that the EEA grants opportunity which presented itself was a real chance to meet our students’ expectation and further increase the number of study mobility with our Norwegian and Icelandic partners that can only enhance the level of knowledge of those benefiting from the EEA grants.Our partners USN Norway, University of Iceland and Reykjavík University, quickly embraced our needs and answered in accordance with their expertise, and also provided guidance if needed to adapt to a system that is far more developed in technical terms.The Norwegian partnership has been strengthen over the years, and both partners agree that the bilateral relation has brought a lot of collateral activities that can only create added value for the two partners: international conferences, scientific articles, and comparative analyses that were written by both parties and disseminated in common events. Building on the Norwegian experience, we sought the opportunity to strengthen the cooperation with the other two universities, Rejkjavik University and University of Iceland. For them, as for USN, the project cooperation may serve as a stepping stone towards more extensive international participation and involvement in larger European cooperation projects. The project started just after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, and has dramatically affected higher education development in various aspects, including the activities planned in this project. The students’ mobilities couldn’t be organised as the partner universities had several restrictions during covid. In this sense, the planning mobilities were moved in 2022, after the restrictions were lifted. Nevertheless, due to the differences in the structure of the academic year for the partner universities, the selected students were not able to benefit from these mobilities.