In late November, ACA concluded the final workshop of a training series aimed at supporting higher education institutions in developing more strategic approaches to staff mobility. The training was designed and delivered by ACA in cooperation with six Erasmus+ National Agencies, CMEPIUS (coordinator), AMEUP, DZS, OeAD, Rannis, and TPF, and brought together 23 institutional teams from Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Iceland, and Slovenia. 

Grounded in the evolving EU policy context, including the Europe on the Move targets for learning mobility, the European Universities Initiative, the Council Recommendation on attractive and sustainable careers in higher education, and the European Commission’s Communication on the Union of Skills, the training addressed the need to move beyond participation numbers and place stronger emphasis on quality, inclusion, recognition, and the institutional embedding of staff mobility.  

The programme consisted of five interlinked workshops combining expert input, peer exchange, and institutional reflection.  

• Workshop 1 addressed strategic approaches to staff mobility, examining how mobility could be better embedded in institutional strategies, governance structures, and quality frameworks.  
• Workshop 2 addressed professional development and recognition, exploring how mobility contributes to transversal skills, job satisfaction, and career progression, and how institutions can strengthen links between mobility, HR policies, and performance evaluation.  
• Workshop 3 focused on widening participation and strengthening institutional impact, addressing recurrent participation patterns, barriers for underrepresented staff groups, and the need for systematic dissemination and knowledge transfer.  
• Workshop 4 supported institutions in designing concrete institutional action plans for a more strategic approach to staff mobility. 
• The 5th and final workshop provided a space for presenting draft action plans and receiving peer feedback. 

A key outcome of the training was the development of institutional action plans aimed at strengthening the strategic, organisational, and cultural foundations of staff mobility. These plans identified priority objectives, supporting activities, responsibilities, timelines, and indicators, and were conceived as short-term pilots that could later be scaled up or embedded into broader institutional strategies and policies. The training also fostered cross-institutional learning, strengthened cooperation between international offices, HR units, and faculties, and reinforced a shared understanding of staff mobility as a strategic institutional asset. 

Building on the successful delivery of the training activities, a series of follow-up activities is planned for 2026-2027. These will focus on reflecting on implementation progress, exchanging lessons learned, and further supporting participating institutions in embedding strategic staff mobility within their institutional frameworks.