University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol Awarded Top Marks for Its Erasmus+ Mobility Project
The award is a special recognition of outstanding work, high quality, and a spirit of innovation in international higher education cooperation. The OeAD’s positive assessment also reflects the great commitment of the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein with regard to European higher education. A mobility project covers all stages of a mobility activity: its planning and implementation as well as a follow-up phase including the dissemination and further use of project results. The entire project and all its constituent processes were proposed by the OeAD to the European Commission as an example of good practice in the field of higher education.
More than 300 students each year spend time at partner universities across the globe
“We are grateful to have been part of the Erasmus+ program since 1999,” says Manuela Osterauer, Head of the International Relations Office (IRO) at the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol. In the project period from June 2020 to May 2023, the university fulfilled all criteria set out by the ECHE (Erasmus Charter for Higher Education) in an exemplary manner. The ECHE allows for the continued implement of the university’s longstanding commitment to internationality on campus for students, faculty, and staff. It was remarkable that the university was able to increase student mobility by 60 percent compared to set benchmarks, meaning students spent more time abroad despite the Covid pandemic. Student mobility covers both study abroad periods and international internships, which both aim to strengthen the personal, professional, and intercultural skills of participants and to promote pan-European awareness. Between 2014 and 2020, Erasmus+ has given 3.7% of young people in the EU an opportunity to study, train, volunteer, or gain work experience abroad.
The OeAD’s assessment criteria
The final report by the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol describes in a clear and detailed manner how the university implemented the mobility activities outlined in the funding agreement and complied with the program’s criteria. The report’s evaluation also included feedback from participants (both students and faculty) in which they confirmed the excellent support they received before, during, and after their stay abroad and the flawless implementation of the Erasmus+ project by the university. The majority of participants stated that they had acquired a range of new skills or expanded their existing skills during their stay abroad. In sum, all members of the university community benefited from the wide-ranging but tailored services offered by the International Relations Office for the Erasmus+ program.
Last but not least, the dissemination activities of the project results, which is to say the public relations and outreach work of the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein as part of Erasmus+, were likewise evaluated and described as outstanding and highly effective. Particularly noteworthy in this context are the numerous events held, many of which appeal to both members of the university community and the wider public. (E.g., HomeComing, Long Night of Research, participation in Erasmus+ Days, Exchange Fair).
Through the ECHE awarded by the European Commission, the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein is once again part of the European education program Erasmus+ in the program period 2021 to 2027. The award forms the general quality framework for European and international cooperation activities that a higher education institution can carry out within the framework of Erasmus+.