This is a project for higher education student and staff mobility between Programme Countries and Partner Countries. Please consult the website of the organisation to obtain additional details.

Through over 25 years of participation in the Erasmus, the University of Bradford has built up a strong portfolio of Erasmus partner institutions. During this time the demographic of the student body has changed, as has the portfolio of degree courses. The University no longer offers language degrees and has grown the number of vocational and professionally registered programmes. Although this sometimes provides challenges to exchanges due to less flexible programme structures, the emphasis on work-based learning has resulted in a growing trend towards internships which has outnumbered study exchanges over the past few years, especially in 2017/2018. In addition, through success in its widening participation activities, the University now has a high proportion of first generation university students and those from non-traditional backgrounds; these students are statistically less likely to participate in longer term international mobility activities, however the University recognizes the importance of study or work abroad in enhancing social mobility, employability and personal growth and works hard to encourage and support these students to access such opportunities, introducing them to international experiences via short term travel awards (less than 2 months) funded by the University. Internationalisation is one of the University of Bradford’s key objectives identified in its institutional strategy, and the University is committed to providing mobility opportunities that are appropriate for the University’s student body as detailed in the Internationalisation Strategy 2016. The variety of opportunities within Erasmus+ plays a key role in this, enabling students and staff to benefit from funding and opportunities to enhance their international experience. The University’s objectives in participating in Erasmus+ is to internationalise the curriculum through academic staff exchange, to increase and diversify the opportunities for study and work abroad to our students, to provide them with a recognized and supported international activity, and to engage a diverse range of students in the project. Engaging staff in teaching and training mobility improves the inter­-cultural skills with which they approach our internationally diverse student body. It increases staff enthusiasm for international mobility – which they pass on to students through their teaching and pastoral activities. We also aim to use staff mobility to strengthen our European links through visits to partner institutions and traineeships host institutions, and to identify and adopt best practice.In the academic year 2016/2017, we reported 49 mobilities and in this academic year (2017/2018), we are reporting 89 mobilities. This represents a growth of 82%, which is supported by the increased number of work placements and staff exchanges. This growth is aligned with the number of grants allocated by the National Agency under this agreement: 89 granted, 89 implemented – 100% of implementation. Therefore, 2017/2018, represents a year of success and growth of exchanges under Erasmus+ Programme, due to dissemination, workshops, talks, 1-1 appointments and the strengthening of cooperation with our partner universities. We are pleased to acknowledge that the overall satisfaction is 97% for outbound students doing work placements; 100% for students doing study placements and for staff exchanges; and 97% for inbound students.The growth that was experienced in 2017/2018 will continue in 2018/2019, with more students doing work placements (as part of their sandwich year; during the summer break on a voluntary basis and as recent graduates), and staff going abroad to explore training opportunities and cooperation under teaching.

"CONTEXT/BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT: The University of Bradford (UB) strategy ""Making Knowledge Work 2016-2026"", the Learning & Teaching Strategy & the Work-Based Learning Strategy highlight the core of our mission: excellence, internationalization, employability, equality and diversity, and sustainability. We have our academic expertise themes: advanced healthcare, innovative engineering, and sustainable societies alongside these objectives. The UB has selected a network of strategic partners: robust organizations in the region with a strong commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusivity, with whom we create a relationship of trust and jointly coordinate strategic actions to our mutual benefit. From our partner's side, they engaged with the project by selecting participants aligned to their international strategies and academic needs.OBJECTIVES: the cooperation objectives were based on academic, employability and research strengths: support study abroad and practical research on Peace Studies programmes and Circular Economy to address critical topics of contemporary democracy and markets; on Engineering, Computer Science and Creative Technologies to address critical issues on Civil Engineering, Cybersecurity and AI; and on Pharmacy Engineering & Medical Sciences to address specific needs related to shortages of skills on participants home countries. On the ground, the activities were implemented as follows: 1) students joined programmes that are academically recognized and have strong employability skills focus; 2) participants were selected considering their academic performance, vulnerable backgrounds, diversity, and equality; 3) Erasmus students joined the University Alumni network. During the participant's exchanges abroad, several activities were offered to support the development of transversal & digital skills, autonomy, resilience, critical thinking, capacity for problem-solving, use of resources, employability skills and skills for excellent, innovative teaching and curriculum design.NUMBER AND TYPE/PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS: We have been awarded 57 mobilities for this project, and we have implement 71 (+14 mobilities; 125%), using 97.42% of the total funding awarded. To avoid issues with the visa processing for yearlong exchanges and where possible, we have agreed with our partners to implement only semester mobilities for studies and practical research. Many students joining were from a disadvantaged background, i.e., some obstacles (economic, cultural, geographical) were in place, and they couldn't have been abroad without the Erasmus financial support.DESCRIPTION OF UNDERTAKEN ACTIVITIES: Most of the inbound students (68%) doing modules at the UB took modules at level 6 (UG final year) or level 7 (PG level). In terms of grades and on average, these students scored 68% on their final mark. This shows a very positive result in academic performance and the level at which students were studying. The same can be said about the 32% of the students' learning modules at levels 4 and 5 (UG). On average, these students scored a mark of 70%. For participants joining for practical research related to their postgraduate programmes, we offered them the possibility of joining ongoing research projects and engaging with our current researchers. In terms of practical activities, we will use the research project ""Automotive Engineering Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning Applications"" as an example. Students contributed to the design of a prototype that aims to browse contents of a database in a multimedia manner; implemented the plan using an appropriate high-level language (Python, R, Java) and/or tool (Tableau, Weka, KNIME); tested the prototype; the opportunity was given to learn and research and co-author research publications.RESULTS AND IMPACT: A) PHARMACY: Graduates will be the leaders in local plants in various departments to assure the development and competition of Palestinian products. Being a competitive industry with a significant impact on the Palestinian society and people's wellbeing, the knowledge and skills acquired/developed at UB within Pharmaceutical Technology and Medicines Control MSc will have a short/medium impact once students enter the labour market.B) COMPUTER SCIENCE: the students from Russia and Jordan focused on cryptography, security technologies, computer communications and networks, object-orientated programming, database systems, etc. C) MANAGEMENT: the students from Egypt and Russia focused on understanding the use of resources and energy more effectively, reuse products and materials, and deliver increased profit for organizations.D) ENGINEERING: the students from Jordan focused on developing and designing processes that make valuable products for society by efficient use and management of resources including oil & gas, water and energy while controlling health and safety procedures and protecting the health and safety of the environment."

The University of Bradford has participated in Erasmus for over 25 years and over those years has built up a strong portfolio of Erasmus partner institutions. However the demographic of the student body has changed over the years, as has the portfolio of degree courses in the UK. The University has also moved towards providing degrees in professional and vocational subject areas, which are typically less flexible in terms of opportunities to spend a semester or year abroad. It also no longer provides modern language degrees, which reduces significantly the number of students taking a year abroad. Through success in its widening participation activities the University also has a high proportion of first generation university students and those from non-traditional backgrounds; these students are statistically less likely to participate in international mobility activities. These factors have made the uptake of study abroad opportunities amongst students less predictable, and present a challenge to provide a wider variety of opportunities that fit students needs and the quality and structures of their degree programmes.In its institutional strategy, the University recognises the importance of Internationalisation and is committed to providing mobility opportunities that are appropriate for the University?s student body. The variety of opportunities within Erasmus+ has played a key role in this, enabling students and staff to benefit from funding and opportunities to enhance their international experience. The University?s key objective in participating in Erasmus+ is to increase and diversify the opportunities for study abroad to our students, to provide them with a recognised and supported international activity, and to engage a diverse range of students in the project.Engaging staff in teaching and training mobility improves the inter-cultural skills with which they approach our internationally diverse student body. It increases staff enthusiasm for international mobility ? which they pass on to students through their teaching and pastoral activities. We also aim to use staff mobility to strengthen our European links through visits to partner institutions and traineeship host institutions. In total there were 61 instances of mobility in the 2014 project ? although this translates to 58 individual participants as three participants undertook two mobilities. There were 11 individual participants in staff mobility, 10 were academic staff and one administrative member of staff. There was a range of experience amongst the participants, from early career researchers to more senior lecturers. Most visited existing partner institutions with a view to strengthening those links, sharing practice and transferring skills.There 9 study mobility participants, of which four were UK citizens, three were other EU nationalities and two were non EU (Nigerian and Malaysian). The majority were undergraduate, one was a taught postgraduate, and one PhD student. All of these students are studying in the humanities/business subject areas. 38 individuals participated in traineeships. All but one were EU citizens, nationalities included UK, Greek, Cypriot, Romanian, Polish, Lithuanian, Italian, Bulgarian, Pakistani. Traineeship participants were from a much wider variety of subject areas including Business, Engineering, Pharmacy, Nursing, Economics and Law. The average duration of a traineeship was 98 days, however the majority were 90 days or less and took place in the summer vacation. Most were voluntary traineeships relevant to the student?s degree, two were nursing students on an overseas clinical placement, one student was on a work placement year, seven students were recent graduates. The University hosted 73 incoming Erasmus+ study mobility students, plus additional trainees and incoming staff. Being from a wide range of nationalities and subject areas, these students increase the internationalisation and diversity on campus, furthering Bradford's staff and students engagement with different academic approaches, cultures and languages. These students have integrated very well and have had an outstanding impact on campus through their participation in language exchange programmes and international events that our home students benefit from.The overall number of participants was slightly lower than that provided for in the original grant agreement (61 out of 70) . Due to the lack of degree programmes with a compulsory period abroad all participants do so on a voluntary basis therefore demand for Erasmus places can be difficult to predict. The demand for traineeships was the highest and the opportunity to combine international experience and enterprise skills is attractive to students. University is developing new ways to use traineeships to fit within degree programmes that do not normally offer study mobility such as Chemistry, Nursing and Pharmacy.

The University of Bradford has participated in Erasmus for over 25 years and over those years has built up a strong portfolio of Erasmus partner institutions. However the demographic of the student body has changed over the years, as has the portfolio of degree courses. The University has also moved towards providing degrees in professional and vocational subject areas, which are typically less flexible in terms of opportunities to spend a semester or year abroad. It also no longer provides modern language degrees and all degrees that operate a study abroad component do so on a voluntary-participation basis, this significantly reduces the number of students taking a year or semester abroad. Through success in its widening participation activities the University also has a high proportion of first-generation university students and those from non-­traditional backgrounds; these students are statistically less likely to participate in international mobility activities. These factors have made the uptake of study abroad opportunities less predictable, and presents a challenge to provide a wider variety of opportunities appropriate to the needs of a diverse student body, and the quality and structures of their degree programs.In its institutional strategy, the University recognizes the importance of Internationalization and is committed to providing mobility opportunities that are appropriate for the University’s student body. The variety of opportunities within Erasmus+ has played a key role in this, enabling students and staff to benefit from funding and opportunities to enhance their international experience. The University’s key objective in participating in Erasmus+ is to increase and diversify the opportunities for study abroad to our students, to provide them with a recognized and supported international activity, and to engage a diverse range of students in the project.Engaging staff in teaching and training mobility improves the inter-­cultural skills with which they approach our internationally diverse student body. It increases staff enthusiasm for international mobility, which they pass on to students through their teaching and pastoral activities. We also aim to use staff mobility to strengthen our European links through visits to partner institutions and trainee host institutions.In total there were 45 instances of mobility in the 2015/16 project. There were 16 instances staff mobility, or 14 individual participants due to a two members of staff doing multiple trips. Of those mobilities, there were 11 academic staff and three administrative/professional members of staff. There participants had a range of experience, from marketing staff to early career researchers to more senior lecturers. Most visited existing partner institutions with a view to strengthening those links, sharing practice and transferring skills. This year’s staff participation was an increase of 6 mobilities compared to the previous year, and 9 participants were new to Erasmus staff mobility reflecting efforts to increase staff engagement in Erasmus+.There were 9 study mobility participants (11 instances of study-mobility), of which one was a UK citizen, three were other EU nationalities and five were non EU. The majority were undergraduate, and there were two taught postgraduates. Most of these students are studying in the humanities/business subject areas, with the exception of one Pharmacy student.18 individuals participated in traineeships. All participants were UK/EU citizens and they were from a much wider variety of subject areas than the study mobility participants. The average duration of a traineeship was 98 days, however the majority were 90 days or less and took place in the summer vacation. Most were voluntary traineeships, relevant to the student’s degree, two were nursing students on an overseas clinical placement, two students were on a work placement year and a small number were recent graduates.The University hosted over 100 incoming Erasmus+ study mobility students, plus additional trainees and incoming staff. Being from a wide range of nationalities and subject areas, these students increase the internationalization and diversity on campus.. These students have integrated very well and have had an outstanding impact on campus through their participation in language exchange programs, student societies and international events that our home students benefit from.The overall number of participants was slightly lower than that provided for in the original grant agreement (45 out of 60). Due to the lack of degree programs with a compulsory period abroad all participants do so on a voluntary basis therefore demand for Erasmus places can be difficult to predict. Strategic changes to University staffing structures in 2016 also impacted on staff participation in Erasmus, meaning a higher drop out rate than in previous years, drop out rates are expected to decrease as restructures are completed.