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, one of the 76 consortia (08/09) in Europe A small & regional consortium

Finnish education system

Oulu university of applied sciences 9,000 students including 230 international degree students and 230 exchange students from ca 50 countries 800 staff 30 Bachelor’s degree programmes (210 to 270 ECTS credits) and 10 Master’s degree programmes, out of which 2 in English Study fields: health and social care; engineering; renewable natural resources; business and information management; music, dance and media

University of oulu students 2900 employees 1060 foreign employees and students 6 faculties 46 degree programmes in Humanities, Education, Science, Medicine, Dentistry, Health Sciences, Economics and Business Administration, Technology First-cycle, second-cycle and third-cycle degrees

CITY OF OULU The largest city in northern Finland inhabitants In terms of population Oulu is the sixth largest city in Finland One of the fastest growing urban centres in the country

practical training in oulu UAS The Bachelor degree curriculum comprises a compulsory practical training in all fields ( ECTS). App students per year complete a practical training abroad with university’s support. Practical training abroad is a growing trend among the students and was valued better than a training at home in a large student feedback questionnaire. Students may do the training in a partner university, company or organisation.

practical training IN OULU UAS Students look for the placements mainly themselves. Placement mobility in all the fields. Most active ones: Social and Health care, Business, Engineering. Placements abroad are built into the academic semesters (autumn/spring) as well as in some degree programmes the placements are done during summer vacation. App. 90% of the placements abroad are unpaid.

practical training in the univ.of oulu Some degree programmes include a compulsory practical training, but not all. Every student has a possibility to do a practical training abroad. The practical training abroad is recognised either as a compulsory practical training or as a part of final thesis. In some cases practical training credits may also be recognised as a part of optional studies. App. 50 students per year complete a practical training abroad with university’s support.

practical training in the univ.of oulu Practical training abroad is a growing trend among the students. Students may do the training in a partner university, company or organisation. Students look for the placements mainly themselves. Placement mobility in all the fields. Most active ones: Humanities and Education. App % of the placements abroad are unpaid.

Started in , based on previous good cooperation as well as cooperation funding between the universities Common facilitation and administration of Erasmus placement mobility: sharing of costs and resources Increasing the amount of Erasmus placement mobility –outgoing and incoming Marketing of Erasmus placement possibilities among the students and staff of the HEIs Cooperation with the City of Oulu as well as local companies in terms of building company and organisation network WHY ERASMUS CONSORTIUM?

Facts and figures Staff resources: One coordinator, app. 1 day/ week Budget (inc. SMP mobility grants and OM organising mobility) grantedused € € € € €all € -

Facts and figures Mobile students / months outgoing students outgoing students (205 months) outgoing students (189 months) number will increase from the previous season Average lenght of the placements (09/10): 4 months Subject fields of the mobile students (09/10): all possible fields from archelogy and education to natural resources and business

Facts and figures 38 unpaid traineeships/ 9 paid traineeships (09/10) Employers mainly small and medium size companies The amount of practical training grant for a student (10-11) - unpaid traineeship: 400€/month (3 first months) and 300€/month (for the remaining months, max. 9 months) - paid traineeships: 200€/month -> can be decided by the consortium in the min.-max. grant framework given by CIMO

Administration The consortium work is run by the following actors: - steering group (no separate funding from the consortium) Representation from both HEIs and the City of Oulu - consortium coordinator (work funded partly with the OM funding and partly with universities’ own funding) - consortium contact persons in the universities (no separate funding from the consortium) - departmental international relations / practical training coordinators (no separate funding from the consortium)

ADMINISTRATION Steering group - Decides the main functions of the consortium. - Makes decisions on the placement grant amount and placement requirements for the year. - Monitors the actions. Coordinator (app.1 day/week) - Writes the needed applications/reports. - Communicates with the National Agency CIMO.

- Allocates/ makes the decisions on the student grants, watches 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.

Crediting of placements In Oulu UAS each degree programme have their own measures of crediting a placement. As an example in Engineering: 1 week of work (40hrs.) = 1,5 ECTS (national standard) In the University of Oulu the placement requirements (time, credits etc.) are degree programme/ faculty specific. The amount of credits is agreed beforehand in the training agreement by the student and the person responsible for the placements in the degree programme. Credits are given after a completed and reported training. N.B! Erasmus placement can be also completed without credit allocation. The min. requirement is a training record in student’s Diploma Supplement.

Funding & costs Example from 09/10 app € needed for the coordination and other costs, from which app. 7000€ was covered by the OM funding € used for student grants N.B! Costs are dependent on the needed actions of the year. In the implementing phase the coordination costs and other costs are higher.

Role of the city Part of the steering group. The biggest employer of the area –> may facilitate placements for incoming students. Internationalisation is part of city’s strategy -> consortium work supports the strategic goals.

OULUGOGO - marketing Erasmus placement mobility is marketed under common OuluGoGo -actions and image Main marketing tool and information channel: Common OuluGoGo – documentation: Erasmus training agreement OuluGoGo -brochures for students and companies

Consortium – added value? common and shared administration procedures common and enhanced marketing of Erasmus placements among the students as well as the staff saves money and resources after the first year/years enhanced cooperation among the universities and the City of Oulu -> added value when looking for companies and other actors for cooperation international contacts and networks for the work.

Iiohei Consortium –Challenges for the future Mobility: Current results are based on outgoing mobility only. Possibilities for incoming trainee mobility should be developed. Funding: Currently both HEIs could use more funding for organising the practical training mobility as well as for student grants Placements: Currently students find the placements themselves. Ready networks for placement opportunities and better cooperation with companies could be developed.

Thank you for your interest! For more information: Katja Kurasto, Consortium Coordinator Sami Niemelä, International Relations Offices