Eracon/INENTER conference 2012

Moderated and combined presentation from the InEnter workshop Starting of an Erasmus Placement Consortium and Eracon session Managing Placements via a Consortium 18.-19.4.2012.

Katja Kurasto, Oulu University of Applied Sciences

- Erasmus Consortium Coordinator, IIOHEI

- International Relations Coordinator, School of Engineering

Erasmus Placement Consortium

International Internships at Oulu’s Higher Education Institutions (IIOHEI)

- Oulu University of Applied Sciences (Coordinator)

- University of Oulu

- City of Oulu

• The first and only placement consortium in Finland, counts for 6% of the entire outgoing Erasmus placement mobility in Finland

• A small & regional consortium

Objectives for the presentation

• Give you one example of a small consortium with a focus on administration system & quality management topics

• Share our views on the benefits and challenges of facilitating Erasmus placements via consortium = consortium vs. individual universities

• Offer questions and tools for the possible starting of a consortium• Provide some food for thought: questions, comments, new ideas

What is an erasmus placement consortium?“A group of higher education institutions and possibly other organisations (enterprises, associations, chambers of commerce…) working together in facilitating Erasmus placement mobility”•more than 80 consortia in Europe of very different sizes•requires the Erasmus Consortium Placement Certificate from the Commission•applications & reports to National Agencies•receives and facilitates funding for student placement grants (outgoing) as well as for organising the mobility (OM)•different types: regional or thematic•each of the participating members of the placement consortium must be a legal entity of the same country as the applicant.

IIOHEI In numbers

• 3 actual partners: Oulu University of Applied Sciences (9000 Bachelor students, 5 study fields), University of Oulu (16 000 students, 6 faculties) and the City of Oulu (app.140 000 inhabitants)

• started in 2007• budget/ used money (2010-2011) including organisation grant (OM) and student grants

(SMP) 96 833€• placement grant for the student: 200-400€/ month, depending if the placement is paid/

unpaid• main role: to provide the common administration and financing system of the Erasmus

placement mobility for the universities.

In numbers

• Mobile students / months (incl. both Finnish and intl.students)- 07-08 22 outgoing students- 08-09 50 outgoing students (205 months)- 10-11 69 outgoing students (262 months)

- 11-12 49 outgoing students (190 months), current situation• Average lenght of the placements 4 months• App. 90% of the placements abroad unpaid• Mobility in all the study fields• Facilitation of the incoming mobility via the consortium just started and limited• Placements in companies, organisations, universities…

Administration

• The consortium work is run by the following actors:

- steering group

representation: both HEIs, the City of Oulu, student unions of the HEI’s, Nothern Ostrobotnia Entrepreneurs

- consortium coordinator

- consortium contact persons in the universities

- departmental international relations / practical training coordinators There is no separate funding for the administration except of the consortium coordinator whose work is partly funded by the consortium funding.

Steering group

- Decides the main functions of the consortium.- Makes decisions on the placement grant amount and requirements.- Monitors the actions, budget and annually drafted promotion plan (for internal and external promotion) for Erasmus placement mobility opportunities.

Coordinator (app.1-2 days/week)

- Writes the needed applications/reports.- Communicates with CIMO, the national agency. - Allocates/ makes the decisions on the student grants, monitors the budget.- Communicates with the contact persons of both HEIs.- Carries out the Erasmus placement mobility promotion, maintains the consortium website.- Coordinates and communicates the placement offers.- Develops the consortium functions in general.

Consortium contact persons

- Communicate information related to Erasmus placement mobility to the departmental level.- Deliver placement opportunity information to the students/ staff. - Guide the students with Erasmus placement issues.- Do the final check of the Erasmus placement agreements and send them further for the Consortium Coordinator.- Collect and monitor the student’s placement reports and certificates/ reports the finalised placements to the coordinator for final grant payment.

Departmental coordinators

- Promote the Erasmus placement mobility opportunities to the students.- Guide the students with Erasmus placement issues.- Approve and credit the possible placements.- Help with/ sign the Erasmus placement agreements.- Main responsibility in monitoring the placements.- Collect and monitor the student’s placement reports and certificates.

Students

- Look for the placement themselves.- Have the main responsibility with the training agreement.- Report the placement according to the requirements of their own HEI/faculty and the consortium.

NB! For the Oulu UAS students work experience/placement is a compulsory part of the degree studies. In the University of Oulu the role of the placement is a degree programme specific.

QUALITY assurance

Consortium work in general

-Clearly defined and efficient administration -> quality and transparency of services for all the beneficiaries.-Tool examples: readily structured agenda for the steering group, annual promotion plan (internal/ external promotion).-Benchmarking of and networking with other consortia.

Quality in the placements

•Mobility documentsCentralised and readily structured three party placement agreement as well as a placement certificate.

•Placement report of the studentEach placement experience is reported by the student.

•Grant payment20% of the grant is paid when the student has returned the certificate and final report.

•Employer’s reportA formatted online questionnaire for the employer sent by the consortium after each placement -> a starting point for collecting a database of potential employers for the future placements.

Questions for the planning phase

•Size and type of the consortium?•Partners, roles, possible partner cooperation agreements?•Who is/are the coordinator/s?•Funding and work resources?•Application preparation – who and with which resources?•Any ready networks (Leonardo etc.) that you could utilise?•Cooperation vs. competition?•Added value, is there any for your situation?

• Common facilitation and administration of Erasmus placement mobility: sharing of costs and resources.

• Increased amount of Erasmus placement mobility –outgoing and incoming.

• Centralised marketing of Erasmus placement possibilities among the students and staff of the HEIs: www.oulugogo.fi -> strengthened image and visibility among the students and staff.

• Enhanced cooperation with the City of Oulu in terms of making Erasmus possibilities known in the organisation.

Benefits/ Oulu PERSPECTIVE

added value?For administration• common and shared administration procedures, clearly defined responsibilities• common and enhanced promotion of Erasmus placements among the students as well as the staff, www.oulugogo.fi• saved money & saved and shared and resources after the first year/years.• a way to receive international trainees and via that support the internationalisation of the university administration.

For students• clear and transparent system of Erasmus placement mobility organisation, documents, grants etc. across the universities• one ”door” for information.

For departments/ faculties• centralised support with Erasmus placement mobility issues• ready information, forms & documents from the consortium.

For the city, companies & local organisations• a channel to look for international trainees• support services in facilitating a traineeship for an international student.

Thank you for your interest!

For more information/ documents:www.oulugogo.fi

Katja Kurasto, Consortium Coordinator

katja.kurasto@oamk.fi