Welcome to session 08.

02

INTEGRATION AND ACCREDITATION

OF BLENDED MOBILITY AND
VIRTUAL EXCHANGE: FROM
THEORY TO PRACTICE
Barcelona, 15th September, 15:30-16:30
Welcome

• Speakers and
session roll-out
• Virtual Exchange
• Who is in the room?

September 15th 2022 Slide 2

Welcome to session 08.02

BLENDED MOBILITY
INTEGRATION SCENARIOS
REPORT

September 15th, 2022 Slide 3

Report background
• For HEI staff interested in VE
• To show VE integration & accreditation through cases
• Pattern analysis
• 71 cases mapped
• 12 cases selected
• 4 scenarios identified
https://frames-project.eu/outputs/scenarios/

September 15th 2022 Slide 4

Blended Mobility Integration Scenarios

Virtual Exchange as:

• preparatory or follow-up to physical mobility
• intertwined component of physical mobility
• stand-alone
• course component (traditional or online)

September 15th, 2022 Slide 5

Scenario 1:
VE prepares/follows up to ph. mobility

September 15, 2022 Slide 6

Scenario 1:
VE prepares/follows up to ph. mobility

VE either before/after mobility exchange

• Focus on preparation to the exchange or
reflection on the experience
• Creation of “bonds”
• Reinforcing IaH

September 15th, 2022 Slide 7

Scenario 2:
VE intertwined with physical mobility

September 15th, 2022 Slide 8

Scenario 2:
VE intertwined with physical mobility
VE intertwined with physical mobility into a
single educational experience
• Also (but not necessarily) while students are
abroad
• As part of a specific initiative
• Activities linked to the mobility
September 15th, 2022 Slide 9
Scenario 3:
VE as a stand-alone learning activity

September 15th, 2022 Slide 10

Scenario 3:
VE as a stand-alone learning activity

VE recognised as an individual activity

• Offered within a degree as “practicum” or
compulsory/elective course or general course
• Supports IaH and inclusion

September 15th, 2022 Slide 11

Scenario 4:
VE as a component of a course

September 15th, 2022 Slide 12

Scenario 4:
VE as a component of a course

VE as integral & required part of the course

• Recognition linked to other course
requirements
• VE used to support course learning objectives
• To give international dimension to a course

September 15th, 2022 Slide 13

1 VE as a preparatory or follow-up activity 2 VE as an intertwined component of a physical
to physical mobility (blended mobility) mobility (blended mobility)
VE either before/after mobility exchange VE intertwined with physical mobility into a
single educational experience
•Focus on preparation to the exchange or
reflection on the experience •Also (but not necessarily) while students are abroad
•Creation of “bonds” •As part of a specific initiative
•Reinforcing IaH •Activities linked to the mobility
4 VE as a component of a course (traditional or
3 VE as a stand-alone learning activity
online)
VE recognised as an individual activity VE as integral & required part of the course
•Offered within a degree as “practicum” or •Recognition linked to other course requirements
compulsory/elective course or general course
•VE used to support course learning objectives
•Supports IaH and inclusion
•To give international dimension to a course

August 26, 2022 Slide 14

1 VE as a preparatory or follow-up activity to 2 VE as an intertwined component of a
physical mobility (blended mobility) physical mobility (blended mobility)
• e-Tandem (University of Padova) • Euroweek (University of Girona)
• i-TELL PREP (University of Limerick) • NICE project (University of Edinburgh)
• Trans-Atlantic Engagement (Newcastle &
Indiana Universities)
4 VE as a component of a course (traditional
3 VE as a stand-alone learning activity
or online)
• Soliya Connect Program (University of Padova) • Shared Garden (Bordeaux and León
Universities)
• Climate Movements (ESIEE Paris)
• University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht
• Teaching and Learning in Primary Education in
International Comparison (University of Erlangen- • Julius Maximilian University (JMU), Würzburg
Nürnberg and the University of Latvia)
• Communication across Cultures (University of
Limerick)

August 26, 2022 Slide 15

I-TELL PREP Project – scenario 1
(Intercultural Telecollaborative language learning project for pre-mobility preparation)
Participants
⮚ undergraduate students
⮚ Various disciplines (EN-ES)
⮚ prior to physical mobility
⮚ telecollaborative tasks
⮚ in pairs/small groups
⮚ over 8 weeks
Tasks topics
⮚ agreed with International
Education Division
September 15th, 2022
VE as preparation/follow
up to physical mobility
Opportunities
⮚ psychological preparation
⮚ links between 2 cultures
⮚ linguistic practice
⮚ intercultural learning
Slide 16
Challenges
⮚ Asymmetries:
- language proficiency
- contact with facilitator
- type of mobility
- academic calendars
- motivation
- accreditation
- discipline of study
Euroweek – scenario 2

Main features
VE intertwined with
physical mobility
⮚ Organised by Prime
Networking
⮚ Annual 1-week conference Opportunities Challenges
⮚ Students from 2/3 HEIs ⮚ Inclusive & diverse student body ⮚ Relies on institutional
cooperate in teams ⮚ Multidisciplinarity investment
⮚ Aim: to develop an online ⮚ High satisfaction rates ⮚ Lack of international
project during the months ⮚ Accreditation*** dimension recognition
before the Euroweek event
⮚ Presentation of research
projects in the conference

September 15th, 2022 Slide 17

The coordinators’ perspectives:

I-TELL Preparation Euroweek

Marta Giralt Àngels Xabadia
Lecturer in Applied Linguistics Associate Professor of
and Spanish Environmental Economics and
VE Practitioner and Researcher Macroeconomics
University of Limerick Department of Economics
Universitat de Girona

September 15th, 2022 Slide 18

Integration of VE and blended mobility

WORKSHOP DISCUSSION

September 15th, 2022 Slide 19

Welcome to session 08.02

STRUCTURE OF THE WORKSHOP:

Drafting an institutional plan to integrate
VE/blended mobility within HEIs

September 15th, 2022 Slide 20

Structure of the Workshop:
Divide into 3 groups, name a rapporteur and discuss:
1. Why should VE and/or blended mobility become part of institutions’
practices? (5-7 minutes)
2. Dream it up: What if it’s totally up to you with any (financial) restriction,
what would be the ideal scenario for VE and/or blended mobility at your
institution? (5-7 minutes)
3. Make it real. Translate your ideal scenarios into your institutional reality
(5-7 minutes)
Report back in the plenary the main takeaways (2 minutes per group)

September 15th, 2022 Slide 21

Action Plan - template

Slide 22
Session 08.02

FINAL WORDS AND

CONCLUSIONS

September 15th, 2022 Slide 23

Takeaways

September 15th, 2022 Slide 24

Session 08.02

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

September 15th, 2022 Slide 25

Additional resources:
FRAMES Scenarios Report & Toolkit (Action Plans):
https://frames-project.eu/ (have a look at the outputs)
EVE: https://europa.eu/youth/erasmusvirtual_en
EVOLVE: https://evolve-erasmus.eu/
UNICollaboration (training): https://www.unicollaboration.org/
'Designing and implementing virtual exchange: a collection of
case studies’, edited by Helm F. and Beaven A.:
https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2020.45.9782490057726

September 15th, 2022 Slide 26

Session 08.02

THANK YOU
sara.pittarello@unicollaboration.org
alicia.betts@udg.edu
anna.pratesi@unisi.it

September 15th, 2022 Slide 27