Active October at TPF

Workshop for Hungarian universities on international student mentoring programmes

On 4 October TPF organised the first workshop on international student mentoring programmes for university staff working in the field of international student services. The workshop’s main objective was to support the recently launched and already running mentor programmes that facilitate the integration of international students in Hungarian higher education institutions. The event focused on the introduction of two handbooks published within the framework of the Campus Mundi project in 2017 (one on the implementation of a mentor system in the institution, the other on how to be a good mentor) and on the exchange of experience and knowledge between the universities.

Bringing together 32 participants from 23 universities, the event clearly showed that the quality development of international student support services is a key issue in today’s higher education. The participants exchanged ideas and engaged in inspiring discussions about the different aspects of international mentoring. Thanks to their diverse institutional background and experience, the workshop succeeded in covering many important aspect of student services. The various methods used during the workshop (e.g. reviews, debate, presentations, group work, etc.) enabled the participants to gain a deeper understanding of the topic. The success of the event confirmed that there is high demand for networking and collaborative learning opportunities among university staff members working in the field of international student services. Based on the positive feedback of the first workshop, similar professional events are likely to be organised in the future.

A second workshop is scheduled for 6 December 2017, with focus on good practices and the different aspects of the mentor programmes, both at national and international level.

More information

ACA and TPF kick off Campus Mundi project

On 11 and 12 October, the Hungarian National Agency Tempus Public Foundation gathered a new batch of foreign experts and Hungarian experts in Budapest for a training seminar on the second phase of the nationwide internationalisation quality assessment programme in the framework of the Campus Mundi project. Campus Mundi follows on to Campus Hungary (2012-2015). Like the latter, it consists of peer assessments of the international strategies and activities of Hungarian universities. The new exercise will consist of two ‘tracks’: full-scale quality assessments for higher education institutions participating for the first time and light-weight monitoring exercise for institutions already assessed during the Campus Hungary project. The two-day seminar in Budapest served the purpose of training the new experts and of finalising the assessment methodology and guidelines with the latters’ input.

The Hungarian version of the internationalisation quality assessment is characterised by its enhancement approach that takes into consideration the types of institutions and their specific characteristics and goals. Participating institutions are not benchmarked with their peers in the system but are encouraged to set their own goals and benchmark against their own progress on a recurrent basis.

There are 67 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Hungary today. The level and portfolio of internationalisation activities vary to a great extent. The present exercise, funded by the European Social Fund in the framework of the Campus Mundi project, is to carry out +/- 15 assessments in the coming four years.

More information

You do not have to be an internationalisation superhero
Interview with Markus Laitinen, EAIE president

Tempus Public Foundation regularly attends the annual conference and exhibition of the European Association for International Education (EAIE). This time though, it invited the president of the Association as a keynote speaker for its own conference organised for international coordinators of Hungarian universities with the title Trends and challenges in internationalisation of higher education. On this occasion we had a conversation with Markus Laitinen about internationalisation and his presidency at the EAIE.

You can access the full interview here