Offering student and staff Erasmus+ opportunities beyond Europe
Middlesex University has received funding to support more than 100 participants through Key Action 1, International Credit Mobility (ICM).
International Credit Mobility is a new strand of the Erasmus+ programme that offers the same long-standing Erasmus benefits of student and staff mobility, but enables both inward and outward mobility to and from countries outside the European Union, known as partner countries. Middlesex will send and receive students to and from countries around the world, partnering with 11 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil, China, Malaysia, Israel, USA, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Chile, Egypt, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.
The funding will also support staff mobility, enabling short teaching and training visits for university staff. Pictured above: a Middlesex student on exchange in California State University East Bay, USA, taking the opportunity to visit one of the natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon.
Middlesex University Erasmus and International Exchange Manager, Dr Nosheen Rachel-Naseem, said:
"The funding will not only provide grants to Middlesex students and staff for study, teaching and training visits to partner universities, it will also allow Middlesex to welcome students and staff from these partners to the university to contribute new socio-cultural perspectives to enrich its research and teaching. We look forward to both the enhancement of the student experience that this will bring, as well as engagement with new fields of international research."
Impact
The new ICM award is in addition to the University's Erasmus+ funding for mobility within the Erasmus+ Programme Countries. As well as student and staff mobility, the funding will support knowledge transfer and the sharing of UK best practice with HEIs in other parts of the world.
This will be particularly important to the institutional development, structural and academic, of universities which seek closer affinity with UK and European models and standards in Higher Education. For student and staff participants, Middlesex University expects to see significantly increased awareness of the value and importance of international experience in academic work as well as a growing appreciation of the differences and similarities in the content and teaching styles of host and home universities.
Another key aspect of ICM for Middlesex University is that it offers an additional stream of funding which will help even more students in both the UK and the partners’ countries benefit from an international experience. This is especially true for those whose personal circumstances might make it harder for them to participate, thanks to the programme’s financial support for participants.
Worldwide Cooperation
Through their partnering with HEIs in Azerbaijan, Middlesex University plans to build on a Tempus project (a former EU funding programme) that involves the establishment of a foundation for the integration of disabled people into HEIs in Azerbaijan, an area of expertise for which Middlesex University has achieved national recognition.
In South America ICM will help deepen current relationships Middlesex University has with partners in Brazil, particularly in the fields of biomedicine and the performing arts, especially dance and choreography. Through partnering with the Pontifical Catholic University of Santiago in Chile, ICM funding will support their work in knowledge transfer in the fields of interaction design and other technology-based design projects.
Students undertaking doctoral research, particularly in the fields of Chinese and herbal medicine will visit Chinese partners to support ongoing research and technology transfer programmes. Staff visits to and from China will continue to enable cooperation and contribute to academic understanding across a range of subjects. ICM will support the development of globally recognised higher education in Egypt, where Middlesex University will partner with three Egyptian HEIs, focusing on Mass Communication, Information Sciences, Nursing, Business/Management and Law.
ICM funding will also support ongoing exchanges with the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, Israel's foremost institution for arts, design and architecture, particularly in offering opportunities to those students who might not otherwise be able to participate in an international experience. It will provide increased networking between the two institutions to develop research and innovation and the promotion of the arts and its role in society. Erasmus+ funding will also support the establishment of new initiatives in the USA, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Serbia and the Russian Federation and enable current projects to flourish and grow.
Conclusion
Middlesex University, a long-standing participant in the Erasmus programme, has seen how an international experience can benefit its students and staff and plans to fully exploit the opportunities made available through the new Erasmus+ ICM programme. New partnerships will be formed, current ones strengthened.
Students and staff will be offered exciting opportunities for study, teaching and research in countries around the globe and the university’s international standing will undoubtedly be enhanced. The sharing of best practice and the transfer of knowledge will benefit Middlesex University, its partners, students, staff and the wider communities.
Interested in HE funding? Find out more about how to apply on the HE funding page.
