Erasmus Policy Statement

ERASMUS POLICY STATEMENT

Sør-Trøndelag University College, HiST, has been awarded the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education for the Erasmus+ programme 2014-2021. This Erasmus Policy Statement sets out our institutional strategy in relation to the Charter.

HiSTs mission statement defines its main activity as providing programs of professional study in order to fulfill present and future needs of skills and competences in our society. Internationalisation is an integrated part of the overall strategy as laid out in the Strategic Plan 2010-2015, and it aims to strengthen and advance international cooperation with EU members and other nations through mobility of students and staff, development of joint/double study programs, R&D and other activities. Cooperation with private and public enterprises on national and international level is an important part of the strategy, as this gives impulses to the development of study programs, improves quality of teaching and research training as well as providing mentors to students. It is a strategic objective to increase the number of English taught courses within each of the main subject areas. Increasing the number of exchange students, both incoming and outgoing, is also a strategic goal, and more courses offered in English is a presupposition to reaching that goal for incoming students. Teaching at HiST is based on R&D, which in turn contributes to increasing quality in study programs and learning outcome for students. Academic staff members are participating in international R&D projects, both EU and non-EU, hosting international conferences and various other activities. Both academic and administrative staff are participating in mobility activities. In the autumn semester of 2013, HiST will begin an internationalisation project in order to strengthen the international perspective in study programmes, R&D and other relevant areas, as well as improving the administrative management related to internationalisation.

Choice of Partners

Partners are frequently chosen at Faculty level by academic staff due to contact being made with colleges from other universities through R&D activities, conference participation etc. Sometimes requests from outgoing or incoming students are resulting in agreements and partner cooperation. Rector and Deans also initiate partner cooperation and make agreements for the entire institution or one or more faculties. The Ministry of Education, often in cooperation with the MFA, are entering cooperation agreements on HE and R&D with nations in all continents, and Norwegian HEls are invited to participate. Partner institutions must be accredited and meet the criteria for quality of teaching and research. Ideally, there should be academic and organizational compatibility between partner institutions, and HiST endeavor to hold on to this ideal. However, at times other priorities prevail, mostly due to cultural and economic differences in spite of which cooperation has proven to be fruitful, and students have gained valuable professional training and cultural experiences they would otherwise not had the possibility to obtain

Geographical Areas

Due to the participation in the Erasmus program, most international partner institutions are located in EU member nations in accordance with HiST strategy. Nordic cooperation is considered important and has a long tradition. HiST aims to have a diversified portfolio of agreements in order to have a truly international network. Many students and staff members find English-speaking countries attractive, notably countries leading in science and research. However, there is increasing interest among students and staff for countries in the southern hemisphere, which has resulted in agreements with HEI in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia,

Nepal, Bangladesh and Nicaragua among others. There are a growing interest for the BRICS countries, and HiST expects more partners from these countries in the near future.

Mobility —objectives and target group

The main target group when it comes to students is first, second and third cycles, in that order. Students in all cycles are encouraged to participate in mobility activities both for study and work placement. Staff, both academic and administrative, are likewise encouraged to engage in mobility. The overall objective is to increase the mobility among incoming and outgoing students and staff in the years to come.

Double/joint degrees

Presently HiST is participating in one international double/joint degrees: Full time Master's degree in Electronic Systems and Instrumentation in cooperation with Mid Sweden University. It is a strategic goal to develop more double/joint degrees, both national and international ones.

HiST looks forward to expand Erasmus cooperation to other non-EU member nations in both key actions, as increasing the number of mobility of students and staff is a strategic goal. Contributing to innovation and entrepreneurship is another important part of the overall strategy, and HiST aims at developing courses in innovation and entrepreneurship in all study programs, as well as improving the competence on the subject among staff members. The University College has undertaken a few development projects on innovation and entrepreneurship, and is planning to implement the results, as well as establishing innovation laboratories for developing welfare related technology. HiST is participating in IP projects in informatics, and expects to be able to expand this activity under the new program.

The University College will be looking for long term strategic partners in these and other activities, and will explore the possibilities offered by the new program with great interest. The coming autumn HiST will begin a project related to the internationalisation of the institution, and plans and strategies for how to build strong and lasting partnerships is going to be an important part of it.

HiST expects that by participating in "Erasmus for All", the new program activities will contribute to increase the number of exchange students as well as graduates, which is a strategic goal. Developing innovative and flexible learning environments in cooperation with partner institutions is another area of interest. As pointed out in the policy statement above, HiST aims to strengthen cooperation with other HEI’s and public and private enterprises in order to improve our programs of professional study, which would contribute to equip our graduates with knowledge and competences needed in their future occupations, be it in Norway or abroad.