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Internationalisation is an important part of NHL Stenden's mission to provide world-class education and research. The labour market and the sectors for which our students are trained are increasingly globalised. To cope with an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, all students need to understand and be aware of the intercultural and international dimensions and context of their field, whether they are studying abroad or at home, at Associate, Bachelor or Master level.
In line with the above, the mission and vision of NHL Stenden lead to appealing ambitions with regard to internationalisation:
- Graduates of NHL Stenden have acquired the international and intercultural competencies necessary for a successful (international) career in their industry (qualification);
- NHL Stenden graduates are familiarised with a diverse range of traditions, cultures, practices, values and norms (socialisation);
- NHL Stenden graduates are autonomous and independent individuals in our local, national and global society (subjectification).
The internationalisation policy is composed in line with the Strategic Plan 2019-2024 of NHL Stenden. To give direction to the development of internationalisation of NHL Stenden, policy objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) have been formulated, linked to the current phase of development of the institution. These policy goals and KPIs are based on the strategic priorities set by NHL Stenden with regard to internationalisation in this policy, and on the design and implementation of the preconditions necessary to realise the standard of a fully internationalised university of applied sciences.
The ambition to be a fully internationalised university of applied sciences places demands on an internationally friendly and diverse environment and on the composition and experience of our staff. Staff mobility and exchange is an important aspect of our internationalisation activities, both through travel and online peer-to-peer cooperation.
Participation in the Erasmus project is one of these preconditions that opens up opportunities for students and staff to take part in activities, projects, exchanges and other forms of international cooperation, both virtually and through travel. NHL Stenden is currently building a network of strong European partners to cooperate at a strategic level in the development of innovative forms of internationalisation and mobility.
NHL Stenden participates in the following Erasmus+ actions
- Mobility of students and staff is an important activity and a prerequisite for acquiring the international and intercultural competencies mentioned in our institutional strategy. Our international network provides strong and attractive opportunities for both students and staff to gain a wide range of experiences that we cannot offer domestically. NHL Stenden actively promotes this to students and staff in order to seize the opportunities that enrich their learning experiences and educational practice.
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Partnerships for cooperation and exchange of practices
As NHL Stenden has experience with alternative forms of internationalisation, we are a frontrunner in innovative internationalisation. We like to share our experiences and benchmark activities with relevant and valuable institutions in order to learn and further improve our activities. -
Partnerships for excellence - European universities
NHL Stenden has applied for European University in 2020 (RUN-EU), based on the conviction that a strong network of European partner universities and societal stakeholders with a common challenge and corresponding mission can be of great value to the organisation at all levels. -
Partnerships for Excellence - Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's programmes
NHL Stenden aims to deepen and broaden its cooperation with existing partners. In addition to credit mobility and personnel exchange, we would like to go further and explore possibilities for developing Masters with a select group of partner institutions. -
Partnerships for innovation
- Bringing the relationship with our partner institutions to a higher level not only improves the quality of our education (the main goal of internationalisation), but also opens up avenues for further development of our policy and cooperation. We like to learn from inspiring colleagues and institutions, but we think we have experiences and vision on international cooperation to offer that can be of great value to others and can be developed to the next level in discussion by creating a joint policy.
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES
Inclusive education
NHL Stenden has a strong focus on developing education from level 5EQF to level 7EQF and offering flex programmes. This enables more students to follow higher education. NHL Stenden has various facilities to support students, such as student counsellors (in several languages), study coaches within the programme and also counsellors. Students are informed in information meetings about the facilities offered so that all students feel facilitated to participate in mobility activities. Strong partnerships support this process; it is important for NHL Stenden to be confident that partners are able to take care of students with fewer opportunities.
European Student Card
NHL Stenden is committed to joining the European Student Card Initiative. The implementation of a Customer Relationship Management system in 2020 will support online learning agreements and the management of inter-institutional agreements. Furthermore, NHL Stenden has a project group for the implementation of Bologna tools and this can be included in their scope.
Ecological footprint
NHL Stenden is very aware of its ecological footprint, and actively seeks ways to reduce it, by promoting train travel for shorter destinations. Furthermore, there is a stronger focus on blended mobility to create more opportunities for Internationalisation at Home. Each year, students work on a sustainability project to offset the flight movements of staff and students, in cooperation with the purchasing department.
Active Citizenship
NHL Stenden is committed to civic engagement and the UN SDGs. The three focus areas of the strategic institutional policy are Vital Regions, Service Economy and Smart Sustainable Industries. The educational concept Design Based Education connects education, research and business, with students working on real-life challenges for real-life organisations. NHL Stenden is also committed to Universities Fighting World Hunger, in which students develop initiatives to raise awareness and funds to fight world hunger. Outgoing students participate in preparation meetings and are asked to write learning objectives related to their study period abroad.
Erasmus+
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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