3 Targets moving forward in Erasmus Mundus
Posted date: 09 Oct 2021
As international university students prepare to return to college, the future of most European students remains uncertain. Whether in Spain or Slovakia, the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on higher education in Europe does not appear to be abating anytime soon, especially given the vaccine's delayed implementation. Even the most well-prepared institutions and programmes, such as the high-mobility Erasmus Mundus programme, find it difficult to manage internationalisation efforts in this situation. In this scenario, colleges must establish measures to keep programmes functioning successfully despite the current challenges, rather than waiting for the pandemic to stop and resume internationalisation efforts.
Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Degree programmes, run by the European Commission, offer joint master's degrees in unique and needed disciplines, with scholarships available to students from all across the world. The programmes have been praised for their unique, forward-thinking structure as well as their ability to contribute to educational convergence across Africa. With no end in sight to the crisis, these findings are not only timely, but also provide insight into how to refocus internationalisation efforts in anticipation of future risk management issues.
An EU-wide response to student mental health
The pandemic exposed the European institutions' inadequacy of mental health care. There is a lack of understanding for the student's position, and pleas for mental health treatment are frequently ignored. Higher education institutions across the EU take a variety of approaches to dealing with psychological well-being, which is especially difficult for Mundus students who are enrolled at various universities throughout their programmes. A comprehensive strategy to mental health assistance for students in Europe is required, maybe including the establishment of a national or transnational clearinghouse of support counsellors.
Agile programme management
Until recently, the pandemic's mobility restrictions were quite uniform over the world, with some generalised hurdles to any cross-border movement and most on-site teaching in universities suspended. A new academic year will offer a fresh set of circumstances. Universities will have to deal with the fact that some students will be allowed to migrate and be active in internationalisation overseas, while others would not, due to differing rates of vaccination and pandemic control. Managers may have to cope with hybrid groups, in which some students take lessons online while others take them in person. Because these programmes seek to recruit students from all over the world, this can be a particularly difficult job for Mundus managers.
Maximizing the innovative use of digital resources
Given the likelihood that at least some students will be unable to participate in on-site mobility, programmes should make use of the digital resources that have become more widely available over the last year. One of the most significant aspects of digitalisation and virtual mobility experiences is to think creatively about how to use the technologies and to recognise that activities should be tailored to the digital reality rather than just replicating face-to-face programming. Benefits uncovered in online tools can be implemented even for Mundus programmes that plan to return totally on-site.
By lobbying for the prioritisation of long-term preventative actions, Erasmus Mundus programmes and hosting universities may fight for the current and future well-being of their mobile students – and their Erasmus Mundus programmes.
Posted By
GSP Admin
