A Gathering of International Partners
The International Office at the University of Southeast Norway (USN) hosted its third Partner Days from June 3-5, 2024. The event kicked off with a reception at the beautiful location at Verdens Ende, where Rector Pia Bing-Jonsson welcomed all participants. This year's Partner Days brought together 29 representatives from 20 universities and colleges in 11 countries. Partners from the EDUC alliance were particularly invited, with four staff members from Université Paris Nanterre, Masaryk University, and the University of Cagliari in attendance.
The program combined insightful sessions with exciting experiences, immersing participants in all that Vestfold offers. A highlight was lunch at the unique Midgard Viking Centre, followed by a captivating tour that brought Viking history to life. To delve deeper, an informative city walk through Tønsberg, led by emeritus Stig Bjørshol, unveiled the region's rich past. Participants also explored USN's facilities at campus Vestfold, including the library, cafes, and student housing, gaining a comprehensive picture of what our university has to offer.
Student mobility
The focus of the day was dedicated to student outbound mobility, with insightful presentations from representatives of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, CBS Cologne International Business School, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, and USN. Each presentation provided insights into the diverse mobility programs offered by the respective institutions, sharing valuable knowledge and experiences with the participants.
The afternoon transitioned into group work sessions centered around facilitating successful student exchange programs. Participants, brought together from various institutions, shared ideas and experiences to explore best practices. These sessions built upon the morning's program, which addressed student mobility through four thematic workshops. Each workshop focused on different aspects of student mobility programs, aiming to enhance student participation and program success.
How to get them out?
This group explored information and marketing strategies to enhance student engagement in mobility programs and discussed effective ways to communicate study abroad opportunities to students.
How to get them through?
This group delved into the practicalities of applying for mobility programs. Here, we shared experiences regarding topics such as eligibility requirements, nomination processes, online application systems, contacting partner universities, and application procedures at partner institutions. We are experiencing challenges with drop-outs and how to get through with the information to the students.
How to get them ready?
This group highlighted factors that can contribute to students completing their mobility stay. Here we discussed the importance of cultural preparation, inclusivity during mobility, and how to increase students' preparedness for practical, safety, and other challenges they may encounter abroad.
How to get their insights and experiences?
This group focused on capturing student experiences and perspectives during and after their mobility stay. Here, we discussed strategies for promoting student mobility based on student experiences, as well as evaluation methods to improve programs. We also addressed how to promote internationalization at home institutions and how to follow up with students after their mobility period.
Statement from Noora Viljanen - Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences:
"It was a pleasure to share our strategies, challenges, lessons learned, and support systems for outgoing student exchanges with international colleagues. During the Partner Days our workshop sessions covered a range of topics, including student and staff mobility, presentations of European University Alliances, USN's research areas and projects, and USN's exchange programmes."
"I returned home with plenty of new ideas on outbound mobility, especially on how to better prepare and engage students for exchange programs. This experience again made me value of personal connections on campus, even as more activities move online."
Sharing experiences and best practices
The last day started with a tour where the participants explored USN's facilities at campus Vestfold, including the library, cafes, and student housing, gaining a comprehensive picture of the university's offerings. The tour was followed by an inspiring presentation of USN's research work by Dr. Mary Anderson-Glenna. which gave insights into USN's commitment to external research funding and presented ongoing research projects in various disciplines.
The presentation provided a comprehensive overview of USN's research environment and support services for researchers, and highlighted USN's commitment to promoting research and innovation across different disciplines.
This was followed by presentations on the EUI alliances, where Isabella Dufour-Baumgartner from IMT Mines Albi and Lieselot Vandamme from Howest presented their European alliances.
Kine Korsmo, senior adviser at the USN Unit for analysis, strategy and institutional governance, introduced the participants to EDUC (European Digital UniverCity), USN’s European University Alliance. She shared examples on how USN actively uses the alliance to foster incoming and outgoing student and staff mobility and Internationalisation at Home. EDUC aims at providing all students and staff with international experience of various durations and formats. As a starting point for sustainable cooperation between staff members, she highlighted the importance of personal relations and physical meetings.
"I was especially pleased to meet EDUC colleagues from Masaryk, Paris-Nanterre and Cagliari at this year’s USN Partner Days. Also, the sharing of experiences from various European University Alliances, with presentations from Howest and IMT Mines Albi, was highly useful." – Kine Korsmo
The day ended with group work, focusing on sharing experiences in Erasmus+ staff mobility, Blended Intensive Courses (BIP) and Erasmus+ Key Action 2: Cooperation among organisations and institutions.
Staff Exchange
Through Erasmus+, all staff members can participate in exchange stays to teach or receive training. This applies to both academic staff and staff in technical-administrative positions. Group work on staff exchange discussed both how to get more staff out as well as to how to prioritize applications. All universities are focusing on sending staff abroad, both for teaching and for training purposes.
Especially staff teaching is valuable for universities that do not send that many students abroad but brings international lectures to campus. It is also important to give administrative staff opportunities to update them on topics relevant for the job and get inspired by other universities and best practices.
The group discussed both the obstacles that is in the program and the bureaucracy around each mobility as well as listing tips on how to get more staff to apply for these types of mobilities.
Blended intensive programmes
Erasmus+ blended short-term mobility (also called BIP) is an exchange programme that consists of a digital and a physical component. This program should be academically connected, cross-national, preferably interdisciplinary, focus on interaction/collaborative learning (active participation across borders and possibly fields of study), and address Erasmus+ priorities such as sustainability and inclusion.
A BIP is particularly intended as an offer within fields where it is more difficult to arrange longer, physical exchange stays for students, either because the framework of the study programme prevents it or because the student's life situation makes it difficult.
This group discussed and shared experiences with BIP and different strategies to succeed with recruiting more students to apply. The benefits of BIP were discussed, including interdisciplinarity, good motivation for long-term mobility, partnership and relationship building, and partner engagement. Various strategies to increase participation were also discussed, such as organizing staff week as a BIP, implementing a BIP coordinator, and creating clearer timelines and procedures.
Project Funding in Erasmus
USN has been actively involved in the EU's Erasmus+ education cooperation program for the past ten years. The program offers schemes for individual mobility (“key action 1 - KA1”), project cooperation between institutions (“key action 2 - KA2”), and cooperation on policy development (“key action 3” - KA3).
USN has been and is a participant in all three categories of educational cooperation.
Within KA2, USN has coordinated two capacity building projects - where the focus is on developing study programs in cooperation with partners outside the Erasmus cooperation so that the countries' own capacity within the discipline being collaborated on is strengthened. Examples of this include developing a methodology to avoid unnecessary blindness and seek vision health in Israel and India; strengthening expertise and technology in waste management in Sri Lanka - both projects have been completed and approved. These projects also serve as building blocks for even greater educational and research collaboration.
USN has also been a partner and coordinator in cooperation projects that are primarily aimed at “Erasmus” countries - and this is also cooperation that opens doors for more advanced cooperation. A good example of this is the KA2 project “MaCE” which stimulated a new application with a subsequent grant in KA3 – “Cosi.ED”.
During USN's Staff Week in early June, KA2 cooperation was one of the themes for which a workshop was organized. The participants had limited experience with such projects, but the group saw that there are many opportunities to participate, provided that the organization is equipped for such participation. EDUC (the university alliance of which USN is a member) had representatives in the meeting (Cagliari) and there may be opportunities to look at project cooperation within KA2 within the alliance as well.
Partner days 2025
Overall, Partner Days 2024 was a great success, and we look forward to next year's event, which will be held at Campus Bø from June 2-4, 2025.
Lieselot from Howest has shared her experiences on LinkedIn, providing a nice summary from Partner Days and how she spent her days here in Vestfold.
Lieselot, Howest
"I had the pleasure of joining the Erasmus Partner Days Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge. We were warmly welcomed by a professional and enthusiastic International Relations team. Over the course of three days, I shared insights, practices, and unique approaches with 30 international colleagues from across Europe and beyond. This experience was incredibly inspiring in my new role as International Coordinator."
"I had the opportunity to visit three of the eight campuses spread across South Eastern Norway. What stands out most for me? The outdoor study programs at USN are remarkable, featuring outdoor classrooms and unique nature experiences for students Howest Toerisme en recreatiemanagement. I almost wish I were a student again!"
"USN’s practical approach, commitment to sustainability, and focus on innovation align perfectly with our Howest Howest Idea & Innovation Management courses. Moreover, USN ensures each international student receives dedicated attention, studying on serene and safe campuses amidst the stunning Nordic landscape. In Kongsberg, students can even see the ski slopes from their classrooms.
Creating memories as an Erasmus student & international coordinator in Norway is certainly not difficult. Thanks for this experience!"