MASARYK UNIVERSITY
OFFICE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Erasmus Policy Statement
Masaryk University sets internationalization as one of its priority areas. The first strategy for internationalization was established in 2003 and has been updated regularly through various strategic plans.
The strategy strongly emphasizes:
S Transnational mobility of students at all levels between the EU countries and beyond. The aim of the university is to make credit mobilities accessible for every student.
S Widening the selection of English degree programmes on offer as well as creating conditions for making the programmes taught in Czech language available for international students.
V Transnational mobility of academic and administrative staff, between HEI in the EU and beyond, with the aim of increasing the professionalization and international confidence of the human resources inside the university as well as bringing internationalization home for non-mobile students and staff.
S Strong support of international placements and traineeships in enterprises.
•f Strong support for the development of joint/multiple/double degree programmes.
S Establishing strategic partnerships to foster sustainable cooperation with the aim of achieving further development and modernisation of the university as well as being a means of transfer of knowledge and experience as a support for policy reforms or capacity building activities for our partners.
S Strong support for establishing knowledge alliances between MU, other HEI and enterprises aiming to support innovation, modernization of education and creating relevant learning opportunities according to the needs of the labour market.
Selection of partners in general depends on mutual interests and quality of cooperation. MU is open to cooperation and establishment of various types of partnerships; hence criteria vary according to the purpose of the partnership.
For exchange mobility of students (and staff) particular attention is paid to
a) academic offer which has to meet academic standards and/or offer courses unavailable at Masaryk University, yet still relevant for some programmes;
MASARYK UNIVERSITY, Office for International Studies • Komenského nám. 220/2, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic Phone: +420 549 49 1106, 4147 • Fax: +420 549 49 1113 • ois@czs.muni.cz • http://czs.muni.cz
b) attractiveness of the host institution for MU students and vice-versa, to ensure reciprocity and sustainability;
c) services provided by host institution in terms of living, housing and academic support.
For partnerships in research, MU seeks partners to carry out excellent research, but also welcomes researchers interested in using MU research facilities.
Joint study programmes partners have to prove that the administration of the university is committed to support joint programmes and there are no institutional and national legal constraints to deliver the programme. The critical is however the content, i.e. the academic programmes compatibility.
Strategic partners in and outside of Europe should meet the following criteria: similar values, comparable programmes, specific research activities and positive experience with student exchange.
In general, MU offers opportunities to share experience and expertise, also with the aim of supporting the development of the partner institutions.
Masaryk University does not intend to limit its faculties in their international activities, thus it is open to cooperation with partners from all over the world. However, certain geographical areas can by underlined as priority areas.
/ All European countries including the candidate countries. The tools set by the Bologna process facilitate the cooperation and exchange of students and staff.
■S North America, Australia, Japan and other highly developed countries. Cooperation opens opportunities for further MU development and access to new research and teaching opportunities.
S South and South - Eastern Asia, as well as ACP and ENP countries. There is a huge need for a highly educated labour force, thus MU wants to support this development.
S Countries with long term cooperation, such as Israel and Russia.
•f Prime partner universities in neighbouring countries with long term sustainable cooperation based on bilateral agreements and mutual understanding.
MU aims to target students at all levels of study. While focusing mainly on quality of mobility activities, the main objectives are:
v' Increasing the quality of outgoing and incoming credit mobility for BA and MA level (individual mobility or as a part of joint programmes).
/ Widening the range of internships or traineeships on offer, particularly for students at MA level.
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S Increasing mobility of doctoral students, especially for longer research stays.
MU puts great emphasis on development and implementation of joint programmes, thus new internal procedures and centralized support have been established for all faculty members preparing or running these programmes. There is a plan to develop institutional measures with the prime partners to ensure and encourage more JPs to be set up with academically and geographically close institutions.
The strategy for the organization and implementation of international cooperation projects is in compliance with the whole strategy for internationalization. A strong emphasis is put on cooperation projects that contribute to the:
S Establishment of strategic partnerships (with EU and non-EU partners) with the aim of bringing new teaching and training methods as well as achieving further development, quality and modernization of the university.
S Creating new partnerships as a means of transfer of knowledge and experience providing support for development and capacity building activities for our partners (hence MU does not only seek excellent partners which are able to improve its academic and administrative capacity, but also offers opportunities to share MU expertise with the aim of supporting the development of the partner institutions in the third countries).
S Creating partnerships with neighbourhood countries with the aim to support curriculum development, increase capacity of partner institutions in the area of international cooperation and promote HE modernization in these countries.
■S Increasing the professionalization and intercultural capacity of the human resources inside the university as well as bringing internationalization home for non-mobile students and staff.
•S Increasing opportunity for international placements and trainccships in enterprises.
■S Development and implementation of joint/multiple/double degree programmes.
S Establishment of knowledge alliances between MU, other HEI and enterprises aiming to support innovation, modernization of education and creating relevant learning opportunities according to the needs of the labour market.
MU aims to pay more active role in the international cooperation projects. Having many experiences as a partner we have capacity to be involved more actively in the coordination of the projects. This is one of the goals for the participation in the Programme.
1. Increase of the number of higher education graduates
MU is with its 40,000 students one of the largest HEIs in the region. The university has reached its capacity limits of admitted students and currently focuses on the increase of quality, attractiveness of studies and number of students who successfully complete their studies. This
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policy is in line with the Programme aim to increase the number of students who successfully complete third level of education.
2. Improvement of the quality and relevance of teaching and researcher training;
equipping graduates with the knowledge and core transferable competences they need to succeed in high-skill occupations MU has built facilities and centres gaining recognition as places of excellent research potential. The University is aware that it is important to interconnect teaching and research, and in order to fully use the existing infrastructure welcomes initiatives bringing new students and researchers on permanent and temporary basis. The Programme is an excellent tool to enhance links with both universities and enterprises in/outside of Europe in order to reach this goal.
3. Providing more opportunities for students to gain additional skills through study or training abroad, and encouragement of cross-border co-operation to boost higher, education performance
The Programme provides an excellent framework for reaching some of the longterm strategic goals of MU, especially to "give support for international student mobility as a means of enhancing study quality" and "become an attractive destination for foreign students and academics". The Programme might help to enlarge the number of international partnerships, enhance regional cooperation and encourage cross-border consortia to run joint programmes.
4. Strengthening the "knowledge triangle", linking education, research and business Improved employability and collaboration with industry is one of the strategic goals of MU. Participation in the Programme could strengthen the connection between studies on offer and job market demand and increase opportunities for student internships and trainings abroad. MU also sees the importance to involve employers in the development and evaluation of degree programmes which could be supported and arranged through joint international programmes with industry representatives.
5. Creating effective governance and funding mechanisms in support of excellence MU has a central International Office which successfully implements and organizes all European programmes and other funding schemes to support incoming as well as outgoing mobility. Introduction of the Programme represents new challenge as an update and changes in the running methods will be necessary, on the other hand the introduction represents in the same time opportunity to examine the existing processes and updating them not just to meet the needs of the Programme, but also to reflect changes at the University.
doc. PhDr. Mikuláš Bek, Ph.D., rector of Masaryk.University
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