As part of the Erasmus+ KA107 project and a training trip to Georgia, University of Gdańsk staff visited the Caucasus University in Tbilisi. The topic of the five-day training was the internationalisation of the university and modern forms of promotion and project management.
The University of Gdańsk was represented by Dominika Brulińska, Head of the International Cooperation Office, Ewa Chmurzyńska, Coordinator of the Erasmus+ KA107 programme, Magdalena Kiefer, dr Przemysław Panfil and dr Michał Szypniewski from the Faculty of Law and Administration, prof. Żanna Sładkiewicz from the Institute of Russian Studies and Eastern Studies, and Monika Zdroik, Head of the Promotion Team.
The delegation met, among others, with representatives of the International Relations and Projects Department, the Marketing and Public Relations Department and the Student Services and Learning Process Monitoring Department. The training laid the groundwork for exchanging experiences and good practices, discussing current challenges, summarising past cooperation and outlining plans for future endeavours.
- 'Universities are rightly shifting the focus from outward-oriented internationalisation to inward-oriented internationalisation, the so-called 'internationalisation at home' - points out dr hab. Anna Jurkowska-Zeidler, prof. UG, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation. - 'We should think of internationalisation as the university's overall commitment to cooperation, in almost every area and at every level. Building new intercultural competencies and acquiring language skills in both academic and administrative staff is crucial. In the creation of an international campus, the experiences gained during trips to foreign academic centres and networking, exchanging know-how and good practices with other universities, sharing experiences and supporting each other are extremely valuable. Therefore, we consider the clear and systemic promotion of UG staff activities towards internationalisation and the creation of conditions for benefiting from mobility to be strategic actions.'
The trip was also an opportunity for UG staff to get to know each other better and to discuss the functioning of various university departments.
- 'The Erasmus+ programme provides travel opportunities not only for students but also for UG employees, including administrative staff. Administrative staff can obtain co-financing for training trips to foreign institutions (including companies, organisations and educational institutions) in order to undergo training or workshops that improve their skills and enhance their qualifications in a specific field,' - says Dominika Brulińska, Head of the International Cooperation Office - 'Information about training is published on foreign universities' websites. The offer is also available at http://staffmobility.eu/staff-week-search.'
It is worth remembering that language courses can be one of the types of subsidised training. Administrative staff have the possibility of obtaining co-financing for two training mobilities in an academic year. Participation in mobility training allows them not only to improve their competencies in a given field but also to polish their language skills or become acquainted with the best practices offered by foreign units.
UG administrative staff are encouraged to find out about the opportunities for training mobility within the Erasmus+ programme and to contact the Erasmus+ Programme Support Section.
We also invite you to learn about the opportunities provided by the Erasmus+ KA107 project (cooperation with countries outside the EU).
- 'For several years, our university has been successful in developing, until recently, a niche category of the Erasmus+ project, i.e. cooperation with partner universities from outside the EU (Erasmus+ KA107),' - says Ewa Chmurzyńska, Erasmus+ KA107 programme coordinator. - 'Obtaining EU funds for project co-financing is competitive; once a year (between October and February), we prepare a university-wide competition application, which is thoroughly assessed by the Erasmus+ National Agency. Today, we can proudly say that our applications receive very high marks, which directly translates into the amount of grants awarded. For example, in the 2021/2022 academic year, our University had a KA107 budget of almost EUR 600 000, which made it possible to realise teaching, training and student mobility with partners from 30 countries, including Jordan, Ecuador, the USA, Kenya, India, Australia, Vietnam or Barbados.'
If you wish to obtain funds for cooperation with partner universities from outside the EU - please contact the Erasmus+ Programme Service Section. The unit's staff will suggest how to prepare a competition application and provide support at the various stages of the competition.
On the website of Caucasus University, there is a report on a recent training trip of UG staff: https://cu.edu.ge/en/international-relations/international-dep-news/gdanskis-universitetis-delegatsiis-viziti-kavkasiis-universitetshi.
