HEIs representatives took part in training in Vienna
At the beginning of December the Central European Joint Infodays took place, focusing on the international dimension of Erasmus+.
On Monday and Tuesday 4 - 5 December, this year's edition of the Central European Joint Infodays took place, this time in Vienna. We organized the event in cooperation with national agencies from Austria (OeAD), Slovakia (SAAIC) and Hungary (Tempus Public Foundation) and it was primarily focused on the international dimension of the Erasmus+ program and cooperation with the third countries not associated to the programme.
A total of 35 representatives of higher education institutions from Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Czechia met in Vienna for two days to find out what the current rules are for submitting projects in the 2024 call, how to prepare a high-quality project application and to share experience and knowledge. This year we focused on project managers who already have a specific project idea and are currently preparing project application in one of four project types – Capacity Building in Higher Education, Erasmus Mundus Design Measures, Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters or Jean Monnet Actions in higher education.
On the first day of the event, Adrian Veale from the European Commission presented statistics on the involvement of participating countries in projects involving third countries outside the EU. He also focused on the current priorities of the Erasmus+ program, including the ongoing mid-term evaluation of the programme, the results of which will be taken into account in the preparation of the next program period from 2028. This was followed by a brief presentation of other types of Erasmus+ projects in which non-EU organizations can be involved, such as European Universities, Virtual exchanges in the field of higher education and youth or the Alliance for Innovation.
Given that the entire event was focused on cooperation with third countries not associated to the programme, the presence of representatives of National Erasmus+ Offices, which are based in partner countries neighboring the EU and serve as contact points for those interested in involvement, could not be missed. Gulnara Isaeva from Kyrgyzstan, Yasmine Al Gharib from Lebanon, Claudia Melinte from Moldova and Latifa Daadaoui from Morocco successively presented the priorities in higher education in their countries and the involvement of local HEIs in the Erasmus+ program. The first day of the event ended with networking, during which the participants had the opportunity to get to know each other and also to introduce their institutions, or consult with representatives of the European Commission, national agencies and national offices.
The second day of the event was dedicated to practical workshops, in which the participants were divided according to the type of project they are currently planning. During the workshop, they learned practical information related to submitting an application, including evaluation criteria, budget preparation and tips on what to look out for when preparing an application. In each of the 4 workshops, a representative of an already implemented project also spoke and presented his/her project to the participants and shared experiences and tips for preparing an application. At the end of the event, participants had the opportunity to share feedback on the Erasmus+ program with the European Commission through Adrian Veale as part of the above-mentioned mid-term evaluation and initial preparations for the 2028-2034 program period.
You can find more information on the event website. The next edition of the Infodays will take place in Slovakia in 2024, and all information will be published when the time comes on our website, social networks and the event website.
