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Description
Taking into consideration the fact that the modern economy needs higher education graduates with international awareness, intercultural competences and a deep understanding of interdependence, this mobility project comes to sustain it. The mobility project is needed to develop mobilities with universities from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, well renown as educational poles, with sufficient funding for expensive country like the Nordic ones, which would not be possible otherwise. "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu (LBUS) will encourage the implementation of best practices to improve the quality of education, contribute to the harmonization of higher education and research area, and to identify the needs for common curriculum development, also this will strengthen the links among EEA donor states and promote intercultural dialogue.
The project will contribute to increasing the number of mobilities as well as to strengthen the academic cooperation between Romania and donor states Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The objective of the project implemented at LBUS is to create sustainable networks and to enhance the international cooperation capacity with universities from the EEA states, through the academic mobility, the improvement of transparency and recognition of studies and through the improvement of staff skills and qualifications. 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.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 major objectives established towards institutional internationalization within the Development Strategy of Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu for the period 2020-2024 concern the following:
1. increasing the number of mobilities (students and staff) within the framework of EU funded programmes among others;
2. initiating, strengthening, and developing academic partnerships with higher education institutions worldwide, in the field of research and education;
3. participating in events focused on the internationalization process;
4. increasing the involvement in transnational and transregional university consortia, to increase the national and international visibility of ULBS;
All these considered, one of the main objectives envisaged by ULBS is represented by the internationalization of curricula. In this regard, through mobilities carried out in the framework of this project, ULBS aimed to meet the EU educational needs, to equip students with optimal learning conditions in accordance with the requirements of the labor market.
Additionally, the activities carried out within this project constituted an important factor both for extending already established collaborations in new fields of study and for extending the partnerships with new educational institutions. All these aim to stimulate mobility within the EEA-ESAYEP Programme.
In order to reach such results, the proposed mobilities were designed to ensure equal opportunities, diversity and access for all participants to experience an international learning environment, providing people with fewer opportunities the chance to develop their skills and competencies.
At the same time, the main aim of this mobility project was to develop and identify new opportunities for academic and research cooperation between partner institutions, as well as the transfer of knowledge and best practices sharing in innovative teaching and learning process and internationalization.
The mobility opportunities disseminated and offered through the EEA-ESAYEP Programme were in accordance with the inter-institutional agreements’ fields of study.
All inter-institutional agreements with the EEA partners had been signed prior to the application call, after negotiating and deciding on the most appropriate fields of study which might be of interest for both students and staff (incoming and outgoing).
For the present mobility project, ULBS has concluded 5 inter-institutional agreements with universities from Norway (Volda University College, University of South-Eastern Norway, MF Norwegian School of Theology), Iceland (Reykjavik University) and Liechtenstein (University of Liechtenstein)
For a smooth implementation of the project activities, partner universities have undertaken several activities like:
- promotion and dissemination of the mobility opportunities offered through the project;
- organization of the selection processes for SMS/SMP/STA/STT mobility;
- nomination of beneficiaries to donor states partner universities;
- contribution to the organization, together with the NO partners, of the beneficiaries mobilities;
- organization of Info sessions and individual meetings with beneficiaries.
Following the students selection process, 2 students from the Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Letters and Arts, have been selected for a student mobility at the Norwegian partner universities. Despite all the common efforts, these mobilities have not been successful as both students had to decline them for personal reasons or for the host university unavailability to welcome due to the high number of incoming students.
During the implementation period, there has been only one mobility registered. One academic staff from Reykjavik University has followed an incoming staff teaching mobility.
Summary of bilateral results
One of the objectives stated within the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (ULBS) strategy is the institutional internationalization of the educational and research process. The aim of the ESAYEP-EEA Programme was to integrate teachers, researchers, and students in a European academic community that shares common professional and scientific standards.For the achievement of the proposed objectives of the project, ULBS and its EEA partner universities strongly collaborated to encourage and facilitate the implementation of the projects’ activities. Furthermore, the mobilities proposed in the framework of this project have contributed to institutional and inter-institutional sustainable development and have responded to the needs of the students/teaching staff related to the learning/training process or labour market insertion. Also, the partnership ensured a fruitful cooperation of mutual benefit and strengthened the bilateral relations between Romania and donor states partner universities.Partners were involved in providing relevant support to staff and students participating in the mobilities and ensuring that the cooperation will lead to sustainable and balanced outcomes for all the involved partners. Staff mobility has also been an opportunity to identify new professional contacts, thus creating the premises for the development of new cooperation projects in the field of tertiary education, research, and innovation, as well as to encourage the development of joint-degree programmes and the emergence of international events.