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DZS : Interest in international cooperation projects and Erasmus+ during the pandemic

International cooperation projects enjoy extraordinary interest by Czech schools


This year, DZS registered an unprecedented increase in interest in Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps international programmes - despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the area of higher education, DZS registered 95% increase in strategic partnership projects applications. These projects are focused on international university cooperation in the field of teaching and they aim to support and develop innovations in various aspects of study.
An incomparable increase of up to 230% in the number of registered strategic partnership projects was noticed in the school education sector; a raise of almost 79% occurred in the adult education sector; and in the vocational education and training sector, the teaching staff's interest in mobility increased by 30%.
Young people's interest in implementing solidarity projects with the support of European Solidarity Corps programme has also significantly increased this year. The number of applications rose by 82%.
On May 21st, DZS organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and French Institute an Online Double Degree Infoday. This was the second year of the event and the interest of higher education institutions exceeded expectations. Over 150 higher education staff were interested in topics such as accreditations, joint, double or multiple degrees. On the agenda, the French Institute presented a double degree subsidy application and dual degree searching tool, the National Accreditation Bureau presented the issue of accreditation of study programmes and Charles University, Czech University of Life Sciences and Grenoble Ecole de Management brought institutional insights into the double degree programmes and procedures.
 


Erasmus+ during the pandemic


DZS conducted a survey to learn how the Covid -19 pandemic influenced participants and coordinators of Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. The results show that two thirds of the Erasmus+ participants continue the programme of their mobility online; 59% of them returned to the Czech Republic, the remaining 41% decided to stay abroad. According to the survey, they consulted their situation primarily with their families and home institutions – mainly universities.
Despite experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic during their mobility, half of the respondents are planning to take part in a study or work mobility in the future again. On the contrary, Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps coordinators are more sceptical about the future of international programmes. Based on the data, 57% of coordinators believe that the interest in mobility participation will decrease as a result of the pandemic, and 38% of coordinators anticipate a negative impact of the pandemic on the interest in international cooperation. However, a record increase in the number of applications received for international programmes suggests the opposite.