International doctoral studies in social work INDOSOW assoc. prof. dr. Vesna Leskošek

Brief overview Established in 2004 as a first international doctoral programme in social work and funded by the EU programme Erasmus curriculum development Partner countries and organisations: Fachhochschule St. Pölten, Austria; Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, Great Britain; Jyväskylän Yliopisto, Finland; Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin, Germany. Main applicant: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of social work (FSD). The programme was accredited in Slovenia in 2009 – consortium agreement Double degree

Modus operandi Academic board (2 members of each partner org.) decides on applications consisting of letter of interest, letter of support of the potential supervisor and formal documents students enrol in one of the partner universities on their own choice according to national rules Double supervision – first (main) and second supervisor Obligatory semester abroad at one of the partner universities – usually where second supervisor works Obligatory attendance at summer schools organised once a year for 2 weeks in one of the partner countries – funded as Erasmus IP

Advantages Academic exchange Intensive weeks with active participation of students and professors Joint publications Flexibility in relevance of lectures – adopting to students doctoral theses International supervision and support to students Cohorts of students – exchange and peer support Semester abroad

Obstacles National accreditation rules National enrolment rules Problems with electives in English in some of the partner universities Different fees – no enrolment to UK, most to Finland Double diploma Result: no reaccreditation of the programme