UNICA IRO meeting, Brussels | 4-6 May 2022

UNICA IRO was back for its first physical meeting since the beginning of the pandemic! After many online meetings in the past two years, approx. 35 UNICA International Relations Officers had the chance to meet face-to-face in the UNICA IRO Meeting in in Brussels, 4 – 6 May 2022.

Higher education in Europe has undergone remarkable transformations in the last years. From a new Erasmus+ programme that offers more mobility and cooperation opportunities than ever, to the shared global challenges such as the pandemic and the climate crisis, international relations officers from UNICA member universities are entering an era with new priorities, practices, and opportunities.

The UNICA IRO meeting in Brussels was an opportunity for UNICA IROs to discuss common challenges associated to transformations in European Higher Education, and share good practices and solutions to overcome them.

PRESENTATIONS

Session 1 – What’s new in Erasmus+:

• Welcome words and overview of UNICA activities by Luciano Saso, UNICA President
• Keynote speech by Nadia Manzoni, Team Leader, DG EAC, Higher Education Unit, Erasmus+
• Implementing BIP courses for students at the University of Iceland, by Nanna Teitsdóttir, Project Manager, University of Iceland
• Virtual and Blended Mobility and Blended Intensive Programmes, by Carmen Oglakci, Director for International Relations, and Teodora Monica Fulga, Erasmus+ Officer, Bucharest University of Economic Studies
• Transition from Erasmus to post-Erasmus: new structures of student mobility with UK partners at FUB, by Gesa Heym, Erasmus Institutional Coordinator, Freie Universität Berlin

• Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility: experiences of the University of
  Helsinki, by Raisa Asikainen, Specialist, International exchange services and education cooperation, University of Helsinki

Session 2 – IROs and the European Universities initiative:

• Civis, a European Civic University: quality evaluation of student mobility, by
  Claudia Fiorani, International Relations Officer, Sapienza University of Rome
• Educational cooperation in 4EU+ alliance, by Vratislav Kozák, Director of International Relations, Charles University
• Joint and multiple degrees, by Minna Koutaniemi, Head of the International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation at the University of Helsinki & Coordinator of the UNICA IRO Group

Session 3 – IROs in crisis situations: from emergency response to well-being on campus

• Initiatives of the University of Bucharest to support and host Ukrainian students, staff, and refugees, by Alina Cristovici, Head of the International Office, University of Bucharest
• Solidarity with Ukraine in the University of Warsaw, by Klementyna Kielak, Deputy Head, International Relations Office, University of Warsaw

• Talk by Geert Schelkens, Psychologist/psychotherapist, BRUCC – Brussels University Consultation Center and Psygroup International Joint Practice Brussels

• Presentation of the Erasmus+ strategic partnership project “UNISTAR – UNIversity STAff for Refugees”, by Khaola Al Rifai, Coordinator UNISTAR Project, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

• Erasmus+ Project “Mindfulness Practices for Students in Society – MP4s, by Alexandra Duarte and Laura Colò, UNICA

Session 4 – Sustainability as a new approach at HEIs

• Universities and Sustainability – Driving Positive Change by Matthew Lawson, Senior SRS Learning, Teaching and Reporting Manager at the University of Edinburgh & Coordinator of the UNICA Green & SDGs Working Group
• Presentation of the Erasmus+ Project TICKET for a more international and inclusive university for the 21st century, by Guido De Wilde, Manager, International Students Affairs, University of Amsterdam

Overview of past and upcoming IRO activities

PHOTO GALLERY