UniWeliS – Supporting internationalisation of higher education through professionalising services for mobile academic staff

UniWeliS - Supporting internationalisation of higher education through professionalising services for mobile academic staff

Duration

January 2021 - June 2023

Funded by

The UniWeliS project is funded within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme, Key action 2: Strategic partnerships. It has been awarded a grant from the Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation – SAAIC, which is the Erasmus+ National Agency for Education and Training.

Partner(s)

Slovak Academic Information Agency (SAIA - coordinator), Academic Cooperation Association (ACA), Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), University of Nis, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and Comenius University in Bratislava

Description

A successful integration of international academics is a key element in building truly international higher education institutions. High-quality assistance provided to incoming PhD students and academics at different stages is crucial for reaping the full benefit of mobility and for increasing the universities’ chances of attracting and retaining talents.

The UniWeliS project will create practical tools to facilitate the development of welcome services and professional capacities to support mid-term and long-term mobility of international PhD students and academics in the Central-Eastern and South-Eastern European (CESE) region. The partners will deploy synergies with the existing support services provided at institutional, local or national level (e.g. EURAXESS network, Migration information centres).

The following activities will be implemented under UniWeliS:

Analysis of major obstacles to incoming academic staff mobility and key institutional gaps for welcome services
Design of a strategic model welcome service framework and an online planning tool
Organisation of national and international workshops and conferences for higher education staff
Delivery of a comprehensive training programme for support and management staff at higher education institutions

Deliverables

Intellectual Output 1 Report: Attracting and Supporting International PhD Students, Lecturers, and Researchers in Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe: Current Status and Recommended Improvements

Output 2 Training Manual: Comprehensive training for higher education managers and support staff

Annex 1: UniWeliS survey questionnaire for international academics

Annex 2: UniWeliS interview questionnaire for higher education managers responsible for the design of support services for international academics

Annex 3: UniWeliS interview questionnaire for higher education support staff offering assistance to international academics

For more UniWeliS information, visit: https://uniwelis.saia.sk/en/

For further enquiries, please contact Veronika Kupriyanova: veronika.kupriyanova@aca-secretariat.be