Towards Embedding Mobility: a Circle U. Toolkit for Improvement

The Circle U. Joint Policy Framework (JPF) for mobility includes specific targets and initiatives on embedded mobility. These include the commitment that:

• “Circle U. will work towards embedding mobility in all study programmes” in order to 
• “make mobility the rule and opting out the exception for specific reason”
• This is intended to imply: 
• “a move towards faculty or institution-designed courses or programmes” for mobility which can be 
• “either physical, virtual or blended.” 

The taskforce that developed the JPF recognised that “exchange mobility appeals only to a smaller proportion of the student body” so “by prioritising embedded mobility across our programmes, a much wider audience can benefit from a mobility experience or other type of international exposure.”  

In the Circle U. document outlining how the alliance is counting mobility, international exposure is explained as “any kind of activity bringing staff and students in contact for seminars, teaching etc.” Exposure is therefore vital to our efforts to offer inclusive mobility, available to a wider group of students, rather than just opportunities already being taken up by the few, most obviously through semester/year exchange programmes. 

Initiatives to achieve our targets include, amongst others:

• mapping good practices;
• developing flexible formats;
• offering toolkits for implementation;
• opt-out solutions.

This toolkit is therefore a starting point for mapping and sharing practices for embedding mobility amongst alliance members in order to prompt ways to be flexible to achieve our targets. It is expected to be added to over time, expanding as more examples of good practice are introduced or revised by members, making this just its first iteration.

“Embedded mobility” can be interpreted several ways and the intention is not to constrict Circle U. members with a stringent definition that might actually prevent or reduce mobility. “Embedded” should however imply that mobility – in whatever form is considered best – is included as a part of a course or programme or other Circle U. endeavour, not separate to it. Importantly, it should not be a tagged-on afterthought or part of a ‘box ticking’ exercise, but rather an opportunity to be embraced by those designing for those who are intended to benefit, most commonly our students. 

Embedded mobility might mean student travel is a compulsory activity for a course, though not necessarily. It might alternatively, or additionally, mean the mobility:

• is an accredited or otherwise formally recognised part of the programme; 
• contributes directly to the learning outcomes of a specific course;
• is a traditional year abroad of study overseas;
• is a semester or shorter period of time spent in another country;
• is a traineeship, work placement, internship or elective;
• is a period of research, a capstone project, field trip or some other activity, as befits the relevant course or programme, done in-person and/or virtually. 

Whilst Erasmus+ has naturally become a standard, funded way to enable embedded mobility between organisations, particularly those in Europe, it is not the only way to embed mobility so Circle U. members are also encouraged to not assume embedding mobility and Erasmus are one and the same. This toolkit’s offering of a limited range of ways to offer international education experiences – a ‘mobility menu’ of sorts – should mean members can take inspiration and work out what might fit best alongside other educational outcomes sought. We may need to be prepared to modify existing courses, for instance to include a partnership with a professor from another institution, or else seek to merge it in some way with a complementary course in a partner institution, for instance by deciding that some hours will be taught through distant learning mechanisms.

• Circle U. Academic Chairs developing new courses or programmes;
• Any other academics who develop new courses or programmes with Circle U. partners;
• Staff who periodically review or revise existing programmes or collaborations;
• Circle U. mobility offices or similar (e.g. summer school teams, careers departments, international offices, etc) to help promote and encourage Circle U. collaboration and objectives.

This toolkit cannot solve everything and does not pretend to provide all the answers. There are various practical challenges that may contribute to programmes or courses – and those that lead them – not being able to embed mobility. These might include, amongst others: academic calendars that do not fit together well, recognition challenges based on academic policy conflicts at one or more Circle U. partners, budgetary and/or time constraints for academic staff or student participants, degree programmes with professional, statutory and/or regulatory requirements, or just an apparent lack of flexibility in a student’s freedom to select and fit in mobility.

Over time, and through ongoing collaboration within the Circle U., we aim to develop solutions or alternatives to these challenges, again to try and share good practice and good ideas to increase mobility further.

Exchange and Double Degree ‘Tracks’ at Louvain’s School of Management

A few years ago, the Louvain School of Management had many exchange and double degree agreements which offered a vast array of opportunities to its students; mobility being an important focus of its curriculum. The academic directors decided that going for an exchange abroad was the rule and staying at Louvain for the full degree the exception. The faculty also welcomed many international students. The choice of courses was ‘open’ with nothing fixed or defined beforehand and each student had to propose their own route through the programme.

The Louvain School of Management wanted to solve two main difficulties regarding its traditional semester exchanges and international double degrees:

1. matching programmes is complex and the students were sometimes disappointed with what was accepted for credit transfer;
2. the decision of students to apply for an exchange or a double degree is too often dependent on the destination city, its cultural attraction, climate, on the reputation of the partner institution and/or on its language of tuition. Some destinations are therefore far less popular, despite their qualities.

The Louvain School of Management designed two solutions to help solve those problems:

1. the presentation of its course offering through academically approved study ‘tracks’ consisting mainly of groups of courses for a total 15 or 30 ECTS. The courses do not overlap either in terms of academic content or timetabling of classes and are academically coherent;
2. the creation of thematic double degrees, combining the strengths of the two partner institutions in a (semi-)fixed programme (e.g. a Business Engineering double degree that integrates the study major of supply chains at Louvain and the study major in energy and renewable resources from the partner institution.

The international team of the Louvain School of Management decided therefore to initiate a switch from a system where almost every combination of courses was possible though not necessarily taken up to a system with predefined study ‘tracks’, i.e. predetermined routes through the programme. This reduced the variety of combinations but with the express purposes to improve and offer greater complementarity.

For these new, more select double degree tracks, the Louvain School of Management elected a professor to be responsible for each partnership combination. They were to be highly motivated and internationally-oriented academic staff who already had links with the relevant partner institution and who agreed to act as champions for the track. They were prepared to promote the track to students, be part of the selection procedures, maintain relations with the partner institution(s) and contribute to any necessary adjustments to the tracks over time. Part of the task of these champions was also to monitor the agreement by checking each year if the programmes still matched, to support solving any issues experienced during the year or implementing improvements where possible.

This approach importantly involves academic staff rather than being led by professional services, administrative or staff in manager positions alone. It also makes the partnership more attractive to students due to its coherence and the support of those teaching it. Circle U. Academic Chairs or other motivated academics could similarly play this vital role in this approach to embedded mobility.

Key highlights for Louvain were the coherence of these collaborative programmes, their apparent attraction to students, the significance of academic staff in the planning and execution, the relative administrative efficiency and the complementarity between collaborating institutions.

For those universities considering starting a similar process, there are two main recommendations:

1. Start with ‘tracks’ for traditional student exchanges. In the same way such bilateral exchanges often begin with a small number of disciplinary focuses, maybe even just one, so the double degree tracks could and show stem from such focus.
2. The creation of thematic double degrees. Double degrees have many advantages to students and universities (two degrees from two institutions in only two years, a long period of mobility embedded, an increase in the number of regular international students for the universities, strong or stronger partnerships, etc) and this idea of ‘tracks’ could easily be applied to it. See for example a structure of thematic double degrees at Louvain.

For further information, please see Double Degree LSM / NHH (uclouvain.be).

A Short Excursion to the United Nations in New York on the MSc Leadership & Development at King’s College London’s African Leadership Centre

The one-year nature of Master’s programmes in the UK is often assumed to make offering embedded mobility impossible. Whilst King’s does have a European Studies Master’s where the second semester allows for a traditional study abroad period at one of two partner universities, the MSc Leadership & Development is taught across two teaching semesters in London followed by a dissertation project largely written in the summer and early autumn, following teaching. During the summer, the programme lead and teaching fellows lead a short trip to the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City in the USA. This is an opportunity for those on the course to complement their learning from taught classes and reflect further whilst they are writing their theses. The chance to witness and experience leadership and development in practice at one of the world’s most fully global organisations, associated with leadership that transcends national boundaries, makes for a significant mobility connected with the programme’s learning outcomes but does not require significant time commitment nor distraction from the dissertation.

For further information, please see Leadership & Development MSc (kcl.ac.uk).

The International Semester at Aarhus University’s Faculty of Health

In line with the Circle U. plan for international exposure reaching 50 percent mobility, internationalisation is a priority at the Faculty of Health, and is seen as a way to achieve an even higher performance within research and teaching. However, the goal of internationalisation at the Faculty of Health faces certain challenges that make mobility less accessible. A main issue is the fact that a high proportion of courses are mandatory and completely taught in Danish.

To overcome these challenges the Faculty of Health has taken steps to embed different international elements in the curriculum and study programmes with the aim of providing the best study programmes possible and, where possible, increased research collaboration. As almost all teaching in the Faculty of Health is in Danish, the Department of Clinical Medicine has created the International Semester entirely taught in English on the 5th semester of the Master’s programme to attract students from partner universities. The programme runs in both autumn and spring semesters and consists of mandatory courses and training with a 30 ECTS workload. The subjects of the courses are gynaecology-obstetrics, pediatrics and clinical genetics, and the semester consists of introductory classes, classroom teaching, clinical training at a gynaecological-obstetrical department and a pediatrics department and an examination period.

The courses are mandatory for Aarhus University (AU) students, and the incoming students from AU partner universities take classes with the AU students. Most of the international students are paired with a student buddy, and in the departments a clinical advisor will be offering mentoring and guidance.

Due to the principle of exchange the increase in incoming international students generates places at partner universities for AU students interested in studying abroad, and the outgoing AU students in the Master’s programme are encouraged to go abroad during the International Semester. In order to make mobility smoother and more accessible and make sure that students take a full semester (30 ECTS), possible ’subject packages’ at AU partner universities have been examined to make sure there is a good fit. The Medicine Study Board has assessed the courses at partner universities, and where courses correspond to the content of subjects offered at AU,  subject packages with selected subjects are offered to AU students. It is mandatory for the outgoing student to follow all the courses in these subject packages.

As both partner universities and their courses evolve, it is a challenge to make sure that the offer continues to correspond to the course offer at AU. The use of subject packages to create smooth mobility options for students is therefore a time-consuming task, which demands significant maintenance, correspondence and close co-operation with the partner universities. Moreover, AU students are made aware that the courses are not guaranteed, and that course content may change. Ultimately, it is therefore the students’ responsibility to make sure that all the courses in the subject packages are offered, and that the content matches their semester learning objectives when they go abroad.

For further information, please see Gynaecology-Obstetrics and Paediatrics (health.au.dk) or contact health.studyabroad@au.dk

The Thesis Abroad at the University of Pisa

The University of Pisa offers students the possibility to prepare their final thesis abroad with a special call offering 40 scholarships of €2,000 each. This opportunity is normally welcomed by students, since if they succeed with the application, they have a chance to go abroad for a minimum of two months. The call requires a preparation of papers beforehand – application, Learning Agreement before the mobility, letter of a professor assessing the thesis motivation, etc.

Further information to come, but in the meantime please see Tesi di Laurea all'estero (unipi.it).

An Austrian-Australian-Swiss Classroom at the University of Vienna

Among the various options for virtual collaboration, the University of Vienna has focused on virtual exchange / collaborative online international learning (COIL). Within this model, staff teaching similar courses at different universities plan joint online teaching units together, allowing students to engage in collaborative online work with students from other universities. Online teaching can be combined with face-to-face teaching, and there can be a short physical mobility phase too. At least in theory, implementation is not bureaucratic, because no bilateral agreement or authorisation is required.

One example of this kind of mobility at the University of Vienna is the course on Transnational Organised Crime run by the Institute of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law. Originally created as a bilateral international course with the University of Queensland, Australia, the course was expanded in 2018 to include the participation of the University of Zurich. In future iterations, in the winter semester 2022 and summer semester 2023, the Universities of Ferrara and Cologne will also participate as guests.

The ‘Austrian-Australian-Swiss Classroom’ begins with a preparatory phase in the students’ respective home countries and with online international cooperation between students. It then includes a travel phase with one week of face-to-face teaching on site, where all participants meet in person. The location of this physical week alternates annually between Vienna, Zurich and Queensland. A local extracurricular programme, such as a visit to the United Nations in years when the physical week is held in Vienna, adds even more value to the travel phase.

Cooperation between students from the three universities takes place in mixed teams with students from different countries. For example, the students must prepare a presentation, for which each speaker is assigned a ‘discussant’ from another university who moderates the presentation, asks questions, and leads the subsequent discussion. The speaker and discussant are already in contact during the preparation phase, exchanging information on the topic and providing feedback on the draft of the presentation. Another advantage of this system is that the students involved already know each other when they meet during the travel phase.

The prerequisites for this type of course are teachers who already know each other and can work well together. These teachers need to be prepared to take on the additional organisational burden of organising the course, as well as finding solutions for each university’s bureaucratic requirements. These prerequisites are fulfilled ideally in this case study, as some of the course leaders were professors or visiting professors at two of the universities involved. However, in general, there are few incentives for academics to invest significant effort in running these kinds of programmes so personal motivation is vital.

The challenges in this specific case include joint scheduling – including for the travel phase – and the relatively high costs of the trip (Australia – Europe).  The problem of providing the foreign students with access to the learning platforms of each university has been solved at the University of Vienna by providing guest accounts to the university’s learning platform, Moodle. This works very well, including for external participants.

For further information, please see Transnational Organised Crime (LAWS5231) (law.uq.edu.au).

Two-Week Intensive ‘Blocks’ Abroad on the Advanced LLM in Energy Law at the University of Oslo

The Advanced LLM is a dynamic, part-time accredited Master’s, bringing together the combined knowledge of not one, but four highly ranked European universities. The Universities of Oslo (Norway), Groningen (the Netherlands), Aberdeen (UK) and Copenhagen (Denmark), all partners in the NSELP (North Sea Energy Law Partnership) consortium, offer this joint degree with an advanced curriculum designed to help participants gain a broader, deeper, more powerful vision of energy law.

A key component of the programme involves students spending two weeks in each of the three other participating universities. For each of these two-week intensive teaching modules, the programme has ‘cherry-picked’ the best expertise and specialist knowledge from each particular university. The majority of the teaching days during each set of two-weeks last from 9 am till 4 pm and participants are expected to write a short paper during this period. This paper will be presented and discussed on the last day of the module. All modules also feature one or more site visits.

The unique, part-time structure of the programme allows participants to continue full-time employment and enables them to establish close relationships with fellow participants, lecturers and practitioners during those concentrated teaching modules that support embedded mobility. Once the four teaching modules are completed, there will be nine months for writing and submitting the Master’s thesis.

For further information please see North Sea Energy Law (experience based master) (uio.no)

German Turkish Masters in Social Sciences at Humboldt University

The German Turkish Masters (GT MA) programme is operated by the Department of Social Sciences of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Graduate School of Social Sciences of the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey. Students spend the first year of study at METU before coming to Berlin to finalise their studies. Graduates receive a double degree (Master of Arts) from both universities.

Due to the international profile of GeT MA the language of instruction for courses is English. However, students take additional language classes in Turkish or German or a third language throughout the academic year in Ankara and may choose additional language courses in Berlin as well.

The programme helps students to enrich their academic experience by providing them with the opportunity to undertake a 3-month internship during the summer break before the second year. Thereby, students gain valuable insight into the professional life in Germany, Turkey or elsewhere.

Additionally, in cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) the GeT MA has a US track which is a variation of GeT MA which adds a transatlantic experience to the programme. Students on this track spend their first semester at UNC-CH before, in their second semester, joining the GeT MA cohort in Ankara where they continue their studies at METU and then Humboldt.

Like any double degree, the obstacles that present themselves might seem overbearing in the beginning and can lead to a challenge to maintain enthusiasm and engagement from staff involved. Issues as complicated as national higher education laws have to be taken into consideration, as well as recognition, diplomas, grading systems, and so on. These are all natural and intrinsic issues that we must tackle within the Circle U. Alliance anyway so working through them and finding solutions has value both for a programme, an intended embedded mobility opportunity and for the alliance. If such programmes are successful, they are one of the great multipliers and boosters of international exposure for our students and offer reputational gains for academic departments involved, too.

Like Louvain (case study 1.), the following is strongly recommended when tackling double degrees:

1. Thorough matching of academic staff involved. These progammes often start from very personal connections between staff and the thematic focus of the is likely to result from pre-existing regional and/or research interest. Once identified and successfully implemented, it is quite common for such a cooperation to then expand further beyond the original two partners.
2. Curriculum design and credit transfer needs to be agreed, fixed and assured. Partners need to consider which courses should take place where and at what point in the degree.
3. To devise and implement successfully, such programmes do take resources, notably the considerable time of involved staff. Each partner will benefit from an academic lead and an administrative one to support the necessary aspects of programme delivery.

For further information please see German Turkish Masters Program in Social Sciences (hu-berlin.de).