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Description
The EEA mobility project is part of UAIC''s internationalization strategy by extending cooperation with higher education institutions in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The project aims to continue and strengthen the academic mobility network between "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iași and universities in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein in order to achieve excellence in the field of education and research, by identifying the key themes for cooperation, capitalizing on complementary competencies and offering synergies essential for the progress and mutual benefit of the universities involved.The EEA mobilities will provide students with the possibility to aquire specialized knowledge not only in their study fields but also on the cultures/societies of all countries involved, meaningful experience and linguistic proficiency which will be used as assets in their future jobs.The project is expected to increase visibility of universities at international level. Academic exchanges within this program are essential for the internationalization strategy of UAIC and partner universities, as they offer valuable opportunities in choosing partners for future educational, research and institutional development projects.The target groups are represented, on the one hand, by the UAIC academic community (students, professors and administrative staff, as potential beneficiaries of outgoing mobilities) and, on the other, by the academic community from partner universities in the Donor States (students, professors and administrative staff, as potential beneficiaries of incoming mobilities).Donor partners are higher education institutions and private institutions in EEA countries. Both HEIs and private institutions will play the role of host institutions for UAIC students and staff. Only HEIs will act as home institutions for students and staff benefitting from mobilities at UAIC.
Summary of project results
One of the most important challenge UAIC is facing is the lack of interest from students for study mobilities
(both outgoing and incoming). The most common issue that the students have reported is the academic
calendar at partner universities, especially the beginning of the second semester which coincides with the
exam period at UAIC. In addition, it is rather difficult to select students for study mobilities for the second
semester because the nomination and application deadline at most of our partner universities is in October
and the students have to be selected a few weeks before, when they are either on summer holiday or have
just started the academic year at UAIC.
The students access traineeships mainly during the summer vacation, preferring to be present at the faculty
during the academic year, when the teaching activities and exam sessions take place. Due to the fact that
this project ended on 31.07.2023, it could not include 2023 summer traineeships.
Regarding staff mobilities, members of the UAIC staff have informed us about the difficulty in obtaining an
invitation for a teaching or training activity. Another challenge for staff mobilities for training is the fact that
many of our partners do not receive staff in job shadowing and UAIC staff can only attend a staff week that is
organized once per year (if it is organized).
Another problem consisted in the impossibility of receiving 2 incoming staff from NTNU and 2 from University
of Stavanger due to different financial and legal regulations that apply in Romania/Norway and in the
universities involved. A solution has been found (a new Partnership Agreement will be signed between the
universities) and it will be applied within the next EEA project.
Another challenge is the staff and students'' reluctance to travel due to the big number of flights that are
cancelled and due to the very expensive price of the flights.
In the case of incoming EEA mobilities, the war in Ukraine has discouraged a significant number of
students/staff from carrying out mobilities.
The EEA mobility project is part of UAIC''s internationalization strategy by extending cooperation with
institutions from the European Economic Area through the academic mobility of students, as well as of
teaching and administrative staff in order to exchange good practices, acquire new knowledge and valuable
information on a large scale, and thus balance the disparities between Romania and the EEA countries. The
project has aimed to continue and strengthen the academic mobility network between "Alexandru Ioan Cuza"
University of Iași and universities in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein in order to achieve excellence in the
field of education, by identifying the key themes for cooperation, capitalizing on complementary
competencies and offering synergies essential for the progress and mutual benefit of the universities
involved. The project has also aimed to increase the number of beneficiaries, while ensuring the best
conditions for study / practice / teaching / training as well as living at partner universities and institutions, to
ensure transparency and equality of chances in all EEA actions and to increase the quality and volume of
multilateral cooperation with academic institutions in the EEA, with the business, cultural and social
environment of these three countries, to improve relevant procedures and services for the development of
international relations at UAIC by implementing the good practices shared by the partner institutions, to
promote the Romanian language and culture in general, and the higher education provided in Iasi in
particular, worldwide.
Even though cooperation between UAIC and EEA HEIs is not something new, the project was needed to
further expand the scope, both domain-wise and geographically, of UAIC academic international cooperation
mainly by attracting EEA students and staff to UAIC as their exchange destination. In addition, this project
has been a great opportunity to extend the collaboration with more HEIs in the EEA and also identify new
institutions for student placement.
The project is considered rather successful among all the categories of participants, even if the number of
grantees was not bigger than the one reached in the previous mobility project (44 exchanges vs 49 exchanges), but
the quality of the mobilities increased, fact reflected in the positive feedback received from incoming staff
and students regarding our university and our city and in the number of proposals for improving the
university services.
Summary of bilateral results
During the previous EEA projects, UAIC has witnessed a great desire for students to have academic experiences in the EEA outside the EU. This desire can be illustrated, for example, by the large number ofstudents enrolled in the optional Norwegian language course every year and by the large number ofapplications and mobilities in the former EEA Programmes.Donor partners are higher education institutions and private institutions (mainly hotels, where students cancarry out placement mobilities) in EEA countries. Both HEIs and private institutions played the role of hostinstitutions for UAIC students and staff. Many of the Donor partners shared their knowledge and experienceregarding procedures and work methods within the project, they proposed and initiated activities within theproject, they were available as experts to provide advice when needed and they facilitated contacts betweendifferent institutions, even if these institutions were not directly involved in the project. Our staff learned fromthe donor partners’ expertise and they improved their practices thanks to the cooperation with donorpartners.The bilateral collaboration is planned to continue, both through the EEA Grants and through the Erasmus+Programme.