The fifth edition of the International Staff Training Week at the Universitat Jaume I, held in June, brought together nearly 50 professionals from 27 international universities. A meeting that promoted the exchange of good practices between higher education institutions from different countries, including several representatives of the European Digital University City (EDUC) universities.
The Staff Training Week included a session dedicated to raising awareness of EDUC. Fermín Mallén, director of the International Relations Office and EDUC project manager at the UJI, was in charge of presenting the opportunities offered by this alliance to the 42 professionals from Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Belgium, Turkey, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Kosovo, Latvia, France, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Greece, the United Kingdom, Lithuania and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago who attended the event.
He explained that this higher education alliance brings together eight universities from seven different countries, representing some 200,000 students and more than 30,000 employees, including academics and administrative and service staff. Mallén highlighted the importance of EDUC in promoting new educational formats and creating mobility opportunities that foster the internationalisation of the participating universities. "This alliance not only benefits the student body, but also offers development opportunities for different profiles, including lecturers and administrative and service staff", he said.
He pointed out that EDUC currently has a virtual classroom accessible to all students of the eight partner universities, which facilitates a global and collaborative learning environment. Finally, he stressed that the EDUC alliance "is a key element in the internationalisation strategy of the Universitat Jaume I. In fact, EDUC is an important boost to the UJI’s cross-cutting internationalisation, encompassing mobility, training programmes, research and transfer within the framework of the internationalisation axis included in the Government Action Plan (2023-2026)", he said.
During the week, participants were able to find out about the Erasmus+ programme; learn about various European projects, actions related to research, international double degree programmes or the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) and BIP (Blended Intensive Programmes) programmes. The invited universities also gave presentations to publicise the initiatives being carried out at their respective institutions. On the cultural and leisure side, the participants also had a short introduction to the Spanish language and visited the city of Castelló and other parts of the province such as Peñíscola and Benicàssim.
Experiences of EDUC Participants
The Staff Training Week was also part of the staff exchange weeks promoted by EDUC, so the meeting strengthened the networks between the universities in the alliance but also created opportunities for collaboration with other institutions.
One of the participants from the EDUC alliance universities was Bíborka Bartis, coordinator of the Summer School Programme at the Study Abroad and Summer School Office of the University of Pécs (Hungary), which is aimed at incoming international students as well as EDUC students.
"My experience here at the UJI has been very nice, and I am amazed by this country. The campus surprised me, it is very spacious, and the faculties and services are all integrated in one place. It's like another city within the city", she explained.
In terms of professional exchange, she noted that she had the opportunity to share working methods with colleagues from EDUC partner universities, but also with colleagues from other countries such as Latvia and the Netherlands. "I think that these kinds of meetings help us to improve the way we work and give us ideas that we can apply in our universities", she said.
Michaela Nespěchalová works at the International Relations Office of Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, which is also part of the EDUC Alliance, and is responsible for the admission process for international students and international ambassadors, as well as marketing activities. As she explained, the meeting "was a unique opportunity to meet wonderful people from all over Europe and beyond. It was like feeling the Erasmus spirit again".
She added that during the week she had learnt a lot from the participants from other universities and about how the UJI works. "From your university, I really liked the Family Programme, which helps to introduce international students to the Spanish culture", she said. In this sense, she stressed that the EDUC alliance "can help to connect with other universities, help to share ideas and projects and to improve this process of internationalisation".
