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Description
SNSPA has always been interested in implementing its internationalization strategy and therefore encouraged more and more mobility projects. Once this EEA grants opportunity presented itself it was emphasized as a real chance to 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. Our partner is University of South-Eastern Norway, which proved to be a reliable and strategic partner for our common mission.
New and improved content of courses, full recognition of the study periods in Norway will facilitate the transfer of knowledge and expertise between partners.
The most important achievement is that the students from our university have the chance to study and to participate in different research projects in a different HE system. Professors have the chance of sharing their knowledge and best practices, which, in the end opened new dissemination opportunities, through conferences participations and articles. For students: improved learning performance; enhanced employability and improved career opportunities; increased self-empowerment/self-esteem; improved foreign language competences; enhanced intercultural awareness etc.
For staff: improved competence linked to their professional profiles; broader understanding of practices, policies and systems pertaining to education, training or youth across countries; better quality of their work and activities etc.
Both partners will respect the principles of the EEA Grants guidelines and ensure the selection of students and staff, will monitor and assess the mobilities and provide logistic support.
The better the synergy between the fields of study and research of both universities the more mobilities shall be able to be undergone for students at all study levels, and for educators and staff searching to improve their competences and share their experience.
Summary of project results
SNSPA and University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) agreed to cooperate and support the beneficiaries and the activities planned and to respect the principles and conditions of the EEA Grants guidelines.
Having in mind the objectives of the mobility project, underlined here: increase the number of student and professors mobility between Romania and Norway; raise participants’ awareness and understanding of new cultural experiences; support students in reaching better learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competences) with a view to improving their personal development and their employability in the European labor market; enhance the participants’ foreign languages competence; strengthen the institutional cooperation in higher education between Romania and Norway thus establishing structured, intensive and long-term cooperation and ensure a better recognition of competences and skills gained through the learning periods abroad, the mobility project finalized with three mobility for students and six mobility for staff.
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 benefited from this international partnership.
The outputs were delivered for both the staff teaching and training mobility, and for student mobility. The best practices gathered during the staff training account for the first category, as for the second one, the student mobility, their experience has been actively shared during the informational workshops organized at the specific request of the student beneficiaries. Among the benefits of studying abroad perceived by our students are the cultural enrichment and improved language skills, high-status qualifications, and a competitive edge to access better jobs. In the same time, studying abroad helps students to expand their knowledge of other societies, languages, cultures and business methods, and to leverage their labor market prospects.
The most important achievement of this project is the fact that the students from our university had the chance to study and to participate in different research projects in a different higher education system. The Romanian and Norwegian professors had the great chance of sharing their knowledge and best practices, which, in the end created new opportunities in collaborating.
Summary of bilateral results
In SNSPA, we currently undergo a universal internationalization movement backed up by a strong wish coming from our students to study abroad at different universities. Therefore, in order to succeed they should experience with different educational systems and benefit from a wide perspective. Moreover, our student experience even at home benefited from this partnership as, it offered a possibility for the SNSPA academics as well to interact with fellow academics from USN and share best practices, collaborate on different projects.SNSPA has always been interested in promoting this area and therefore encouraged more and more mobility projects. Our partner, USN the host university, not only has quickly embraced the expertise of the partner, but also provided students with the needed guidance to help them adapt to a system that is far more developed in technical terms.SNSPA, the home university, as one university coming from the academic field pertaining to administrative sciences, was able to provide a consistent expertise with regard to Public Administration reform, European integration, from which the partner could really extract knowledge for eventual comparative studies.The partnership has been signed for a three-year period, but both partners decided to prolong it as the bilateral relation has brought a lot of collateral activities that can only strengthen the two partners: international conferences, workshops and other events that explored the knowledge gathered through the initial exchange, and comparative analyses that were written by both parties and disseminated in common events. In the same time, partnering up under the EEA Grants gave us access to knowledge, experience and facilities in our field of study.