Erasmus Policy Statement
Erasmus (European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) is an EU-funded programme that enables students to study and gain work experience. Read our Erasmus policy statement.
Strategy
Newcastle University's Internationalisation Strategy promotes cross-cultural understanding, engaging staff and students at all levels.
We have identified a clear commitment to enhancing our alignment with:
- the Bologna Process
- the European Higher Education Area
- ErasmusForAll
- Horizon 2020
We are proud to have participated in the Erasmus Programme since its inception. Our commitment to Europe is exemplified in a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.
We work with partners who share our values and vision. We have a large number of research-led partnerships, as part of our aim to carry out research that has a global impact.
We encourage early career researchers to develop an international perspective and international experiences in their work. We aim to make international opportunities available for staff in administrative and teaching roles to enhance their intercultural understanding and professional practice.
Study abroad placements are an important part of our strategy to enhance the curriculum and broaden student experience. We have exchanges at undergraduate level for several disciplines in Humanities and Social Sciences.
We aim to make international opportunities, including work experience and volunteering, more widely available to all students. We also aim to create more possibilities for exchange at postgraduate level, particularly doctoral and post-doctoral.
Through a portfolio of bursaries, scholarships and promotional activities, we have a target to widen participation to all socio-economic groups and other less represented groups.
Our lnternationalisation at Home project recognises the importance of fostering cross-cultural understanding and equipping our students with skills to thrive in a global environment.
A University-wide language scheme has been developed as part of the NCL+ offering. This aims to prepare our students for working in increasingly international and transnational environments. This includes working with the Students' Union and Newcastle City Council's 'Newcastle International' initiative to create engagement opportunities for students of all nationalities on campus.
We are also developing double/multiple/joint degrees with partners, where the degree enhances exchange.
Benefits of Erasmus programme
Participation in the Erasmus programme has many benefits to the University, region and Europe. Find out how the Erasmus programme helps with the University's modernisation and internationalisation agenda.
The University aspires to achieve the Europe 2020 target within the framework of national quotas. We have a commitment to widening the participation of under-represented groups and non-traditional learners. We have a good reputation for doctoral training and participate in several prestigious doctoral training centres.
The University, through its Graduate Skills Framework and an award-winning Careers Service, has very good graduate employment outcomes. We are consistently placed in the top 20 for graduate career prospects in the UK university league tables, including the Complete University Guide and the Guardian University Guide.
HR policies underline a commitment to fair practices and parity of esteem of teaching and research.
Knowledge and experience that staff and students transfer back from Erasmus projects into the academic environment contributes to curriculum reform and transferable skills development, prized by employers.
Erasmus enhances the University's ability to collaborate with enterprises across Europe. We supported the EUA in the development of collaborative doctoral training programmes with industry. We hope to build on our experience of doctoral level Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using the Programme's support.
We aspire to the European Higher Education Area's (EHEA) principle of 20% mobility by 2020. We work to the National Qualifications Framework.
We have benefitted from shared learning around the development of joint degree programmes from the Erasmus Mundus programme.
Participating in the Erasmus Programme helps us to develop entrepreneurial skills both in and outside of the curriculum. We engage closely with our local region, investing in the development of the knowledge economy through projects such as our cultural strategy to support regeneration and the Science City Partnership with local government.
Good governance is critical to the University. Ethics committees operate at University and faculty level.
We also have an centralised procurement team and independent internal audit team that ensure costs are efficient.
A Research and Enterprise Service oversees the development of externally funded projects, which are then managed through our central system.
We are committed to promoting women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in higher education and hold the Athena Swan Award.
We also hold the HR Excellence in Research Award.
International Co-operation Projects
International co-operation projects in teaching and training are central to our wider university strategy. To ensure the success of our projects, we provide specialised support at every stage, from proposal to implementation.
A group of Professional Services staff provide cross-service advice and guidance. This can range from technical support to financial advice, research guidance to information technology. Having this support from the planning stage onwards means that projects run smoothly.
We have developed our templates and approval processes to make sure projects have the resource and institutional support they need. Since committing to Erasmus, we have developed expertise in different EU and international funding schemes. As a result, we run regular workshops across the institution to:
- highlight funding opportunities
- communicate best practice
- develop high-quality applications