EAIE conference Quality assurance of Erasmus placements 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 - Oulu University of Applied Sciences (Coordinator) - University of Oulu - City of Oulu The first and only placement consortium in Finland A small & regional consortium

In numbers 3 actual partners: Oulu University of Applied Sciences (9000 Bachelor students, 5 study fields), University of Oulu ( students, 6 faculties) and the City of Oulu (app inhabitants) started in 2007 budget/ used money ( ) including organisation grant (OM) and student grants (SMP) €

In numbers Mobile students / months (incl. both Finnish and intl.students) outgoing students outgoing students (205 months) outgoing students (371 months) Average lenght of the placements 4 months App. 90% of the placements abroad unpaid Mobility in all the study fields

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.

ADMINISTRATION Steering group - Decides the main functions of the consortium. - Makes decisions on the placement grant amount and requirements. - Monitors the actions and budget. Coordinator (app.1 day/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 marketing for students and staff, maintains the consortium website. - 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. Departmental coordinators - Market the Erasmus placement mobility opportunities. - Guide the students with Erasmus placement mobility. - Approve and credit the possible placements. - Help with/ sign the Erasmus placement agreements. - Monitor the placements.

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.

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: -> strengthened image and visibility among the students and staff. Enhanced cooperation with the City of Oulu as well as local companies in terms of making Erasmus possibilities known among the companies and organisations. Benefits

Objects and development for Activated incoming mobility. All members (universities, the city) have decided to allocate 2-3 Erasmus trainees per year as a starting point. Improved consortium marketing/ communication -> specified marketing plans for students, university staff, companies & organisations. Improved monitoring of the placement quality -> in addition to students’ reports, reports and feedback asked also from the companies that employ Erasmus trainees. Enhanced national and international networking & cooperation with parties involved with Erasmus placement mobility.

Quality– added value? For administration common and shared administration procedures, clearly defined responsibilities common and enhanced marketing of Erasmus placements among the students as well as the staff saved money and resources after the first year/years.

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.

Placement QUALITY assurance tools three party Erasmus Placement Agreement: monitoring of the placement by the departmental coordinators final reporting -> 20% of the grant is paid when the student has returned a placement certificate and final report. -> Room for improvement, open for new ideas.

Thank you for your interest! For more information: Katja Kurasto, Consortium Coordinator