Combining well-established formats such as semester mobility with new short-term mobility formats and virtual formats is the way forward if we are to foster more engagement and deepen collaboration that can lead to increased mobility among staff and students. This is the main message of Circle U.’s very first mobility strategy, which was approved by the Management Board in June.
With the three prioritised mobility areas in place, it is now time to embark on developing and launching specific initiatives in and across our nine universities. In other words, to make our visions come to life.
Bjørn Stensaker, head of the Management Board, is delighted that Circle U. now has a joint foundation for how to approach the task of increasing the mobility numbers in the alliance:
“With the three prioritised mobility areas in place, it is now time to embark on developing and launching specific initiatives in and across our nine universities. In other words, to make our visions come to life. We have an exciting, but also challenging task ahead where I hope we can involve staff and students at all levels”.
A fruitful internal process
The mobility strategy was developed by the Circle U. mobility committee, which consisted of lead senior international officers from each partner university. However, making the strategy was a highly inclusive process to ensure that all perspectives were considered, says Rikke Nielsen from Aarhus University, who headed the committee.
For example, each university was asked to provide a prioritised list of mobility formats and instruments they would like to work with and would expect to be viable, sustainable and ensure growth in quantitative numbers and not least feasibility, resources, buy-in, impact and scalability.
“A strategy is only as good as the people who must work with it in practice, so we made sure to base it on discussions with and input from internal stakeholders at each university. This input allowed us to identify the three overall mobility areas that we should focus on in the roll out phase and also the strategic initiatives needed if we are to succeed,” says Rikke Nielsen.
Build on existing formats
Developing new mobility formats is often seen as a cumbersome and difficult process. But it doesn’t have to be, says Rikke Nielsen.
“What we emphasise in the strategy is that perhaps we need to view mobility from a less complicated perspective. Rather than just focusing on high impact activities such as joint programmes, we should also focus on developing high-quality low threshold formats for a broader audience such as online courses and hackathons, etc. It’s also very important that we build on our existing successful formats, such as the Summer Schools.”
Dialogue and co-creation
It’s also important to remember that boosting mobility is a joint effort, says Rikke Nielsen:
“Developing new activities and formats requires collaboration and dialogue – not just at each university, but also among the universities. Our many work packages and task forces already allow for this ongoing dialogue, and the Open Campus platform also offers academics various opportunities to get in touch with their European colleagues who might be interested in developing an activity together”.
The next steps
Fulfilling the strategy and reaching the goal of increased mobility in the alliance is a task that takes time and needs to be prioritised at each university. The strategy proposes that each university now develop action plans for the prioritised areas and considers how to involve students and academics.
Read the strategy: Circle U. Mobility Strategy 2024 – Boosting Impact and Scale of Alliance Mobility (pdf)
