This action supports physical and blended mobility of higher education students and staff from EU Member States and third countries associated to Erasmus+ to any country in the world. Students in all study fields and cycles can take part in a study period or traineeship abroad. Higher education teaching and administrative staff can take part in professional development activities abroad, as well as staff from the field of work in order to teach and train students or staff at higher education institutions.

Die Internationalisierungsstrategie der Universität definiert ausgewählte strategische Schwerpunktregionen und konzentriert sich grundsätzlich auf einige wenige Partneruniversitäten. Schwerpunkte sind – neben der intensiven Zusammenarbeit innerhalb Europas –Lateinamerika, USA und Subsahara-Afrika. Regionen aus einer zweiten Gruppe, wie Indien und Zentralasien, werden sukzessiv zu Schwerpunkten entwickelt. Auswahlkriterium können auch entwicklungspolitische Beweggründe sein, was u.a. für die Region Zentralasien zutrifft. Mit strategischen Partnerregionen und -einrichtungen wird im Wege einer dynamischen Entwicklung auf breiter fachlicher Basis und allen Ebenen kooperiert. Im Zusammenspiel vielfältiger Projekte und Förderprogramme hat die ERASMUS+ Mobilität qualitativ sowie zunehmend quantitativ einen hohen strategischen Stellenwert. Beginnend in 2015 wurden KA107-Projekte mit Argentinien und Kirgisistan erfolgreich realisiert, 2016 und 2017 zusätzlich mit Partnern in Ägypten und Namibia eingeworben. Folgende Projektziele wurden 2015 erreicht:1. Quantitative Erhöhung der Incoming-Mobilität: Bedingt durch fehlende finanzielle Ressourcen sind die Möglichkeiten individueller Auslandsmobilität in beiden Ländern gering. Mit den argentinischen Partnern, besonders mit der Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), besteht seit 2013 ein reger Austausch. Jährlich wurden bis zu vier Studierende empfangen, gefördert aus Landesmitteln und DAAD Kontaktstipendien, ab 2015-17 zusätzlich über DAAD ISAP-Mittel. Auch der Austausch mit kirgisischen Partnern hat sich im Laufe von mehr als 10 Jahren durch vielfältige Projekte (VW-Stiftung, DAAD fachbezogene Partnerschaften, Leonard Euler-Programm, etc.) kontinuierlich weiterentwickelt. Erst die KA107-Förderung ermöglichte es, die Incoming-Mobilität mit den Partnerländern signifikant zu erhöhen und gezielt auf Master- /PhD-Ebene auszubauen.2. Aufbau eines forschungsbegleitenden Austausches: An kirgisischen und argentinischen nationalen Universitäten wird zwar Forschung betrieben, doch bieten diese gerade im Vergleich zu deutschen Universitäten weniger Anreize dazu, was u.a. in einer starken Unterfinanzierung begründet ist. Es gibt wenige institutionalisierte und finanziell entlohnte Forschungstätigkeiten, und die Tendenz weist in Richtung weiterer Kürzungen auf diesem Gebiet. In beiden Ländern endet der akademische Qualifizierungsweg mit dem Doktorgrad. Gerade jüngere Dozierende verfügen über geringe Forschungs-/Publikationserfahrung. Ein Ziel war es daher, die akademische Nachwuchsförderung des postgradualen Bereichs und des Promotionsstudium zu verbessern sowie dem Lehrkörper die zusätzliche Chance zur wissenschaftlichen Qualifikation zu bieten. Die geförderten Aufenthalte waren für die ausländischen Graduierten und Wissenschaftler sehr attraktiv. Besonders empirische Ausrichtung und forschungsbezogene Lehre konnten über Mobilitäten gestärkt werden. Geförderte wurden wechselseitig in laufende Forschungsprojekte einbezogen und bei der Erstellung eigener Arbeiten methodisch begleitet. Inhaltlich lag der Schwerpunkt auf anwendungsnahen Projekten der Fächer. In den Sozialwissenschaften war „Aufwachsen/Bildung in einer Transformationsgesellschaft“, d.h. im Spannungsfeld lokaler Bedingungen, globaler Einflüsse und Entwicklungsprogramme das Schwerpunktthema. Die Berufung des Dekans der Fakultät für Human- und Sozialwissenschaften, der als Lehrstuhlinhaber einen forschungsstarken Lateinamerikabezug aufweist, zum Länderbeauftragten für Lateinamerika, hat sich mit Blick auf die strategische fachliche Ausweitung und interdisziplinäre Verschränkung der beiden Länderkooperationen als fruchtbar erwiesen und die Öffnung des Argentinien-Austausches für weitere Fächer bestätigt. Dies liegt nicht zuletzt daran, dass mit der UNLP ein Austausch mit einer der besten Universitäten Lateinamerikas besteht (aktuell vom CSIC als zwölftbeste Universität Lateinamerikas und zweitbeste argentinische gerankt). Aufgrund der Tatsache, dass ein Forschungsaufenthalt an der UNLP wegen der dortigen international renommierten Lehrstühle für spanische und lateinamerikanische Literaturwissenschaft auch für Wuppertaler Graduierte der Romanistik attraktiv ist, resultiert ein beidseitiges Interesse am wechselseitigen Austausch und länderübergreifender Kooperation der Nachwuchswissenschaftler. Hieraus hat sich – in Zusammenarbeit mit den Sozialwissenschaften beider Universitäten – ein Promotionsprojekt zu interkulturellen Kontaktsituationen von argentinischen und deutschen Studierenden entwickelt, aus dem heraus nun eine wissenschaftliche Begleitung des Austausches erfolgt.3. Belebung der Kooperationen: Neben den sehr engen Beziehungen zu der UNLP und der American University of Central Asia konnte durch die KA107-Förderung die zuvor weniger rege Kooperation mit der Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral, der Osh State University und der Staatl. Kirgisische I.-Arabaev-Pädagogikuniversität belebt werden.

"The internationalisation strategy of the University of Wuppertal (BUW) aims to strengthen and systematise strategically important cooperation with selected partners and regions at all levels throughout the university. In addition to intensive cooperation within Europe, the focus is on Latin America, the USA and Sub-Saharan Africa. Regions from a second group, such as India and Central Asia, are being developed into focal points. Development policy motives can also be a selection criterion, which applies among others, to the Central Asian region. With strategic partner regions and institutions, cooperation takes place through dynamic development on a broad professional basis and at all levels. In the interplay of diverse projects and funding programmes, Erasmus+ is of high strategic importance both qualitatively and quantitatively. Starting in 2015, KA107 projects with Argentina and Kyrgyzstan were successfully implemented, and in 2016 and 2017 KA107 projects were additionally acquired with partners in Egypt and Namibia. In the 2017-2019 project, common goals and individual successes with all three countries: Argentina, Kyrgyzstan and Namibia were achieved. In summary, the following four goals can be named as the greatest successes of this project period: 1. the intensification of existing and new contacts,2. the quantitative increase in incoming mobility at all levels,3. the structure of the exchange accompanying research,4. the establishment of blended learning modules. While the intensification of existing/new contacts should be achieved by all partner country projects (1), the KA107 project with the two Argentine universities, the Universidad Nacional de la Plata (UNLP) and the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral (UNPA), has set itself the goal of building funded mobility at all levels (2). Since 2015 a DAAD funded international study and training partnership (ISAP) has linked the UNLP with the BUW, which enables undergraduate students, in this case bachelor and master students, to study abroad. The key action KA 107 of the Erasmus+ programme was able to add the mobility funding for doctoral students (graduate level). The seminars held as part of the regular co-teaching of lecturers from the two universities have proved to be an important interface between teaching and research and between the undergraduate and graduate level.The mobility project with the American University of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan aimed at the support of young scientists, Master students and as well their teachers, in regard to their empirical research skills and their familiarity with the international research community and its standards (3). Although AUCA is certainly one of Central Asia’s best universities, the available research grants remain limited and do not allow intensive academic research. As a consequence, the publication experience is low. In both cases the Erasmus project was helpful. It involved students of the university as well as staff in research and teaching activities and the results of these activities were published or presented at international conferences. The project between the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) and the BUW in the partner country Namibia focused on the didactic planning and the implementation of a blended learning module in Civil Engineering (4). The e-lectures were recorded in the studio of the Centre for Information and Media Processing (ZIM) of BUW and the blended learning module was equipped with elements such as interactive videos and assessment components. The module was implemented in the learning management system of the NUST. Within the framework of the Erasmus teaching mobility the staff of the Teaching and Learning Unit (TLU) as well as the Faculty of Civil Engineering were trained in the use of the e-learning components and familiarised with the didactic implementation. Finally, the digital teaching unit ""Advanced Transport Modeling"" for teaching and self-study was included in the curriculum of the NUST."

"The internationalization of degree programs, teaching and research has always been an integral part of the University of Wuppertal´s (BUW) identity. Internationalization is seen as a central component of strategic university development and as a cross-cutting task in which all units of the university work and participate together, from the university management and the faculties with their scientists and students to the central service units and the administrative staff in all their various roles. Based on the conviction that cosmopolitanism and interculturality are prerequisites to success in nearly all areas of life nowadays, the internationalization of study and teaching in particular is characterized by dynamic development. Preparing students for the cross-border challenges and ensuring a competitive education in the global labour market is seen as one of the main tasks. Study programmes should be international and impart intercultural skills, increase awareness of diversity aspects, reflect global research trends and benefit from international scientific cooperation. In order to be an open gateway to the world for its university members, BUW relies on a balanced interplay of diverse partnership projects and selected key regions. Expanding this network and developing strategies and instruments to make fruitful use of it at all levels of academic life is at the heart of internationalization efforts. The establishment of bi-national study programmes such as German and French contemporary philosophy (Master); applied cultural and economic studies: German-French (Bachelor) and and Environmental Chemistry and Physics (Master), the creation of mobility windows and the establishment of structured, integrated internships abroad as part of teacher education are examples of the success of BUW´s catalogue of measures. In addition to DAAD-funded projects as PROMOS; ISAP, and IPID, Erasmus+ is one of the most important building blocks for increasing international mobility. It is the programme in the 2016 project phase in which most university members have completed a stay abroad. In KA103, BUW is currently involved in some 175 cooperations with approx. 130 partner universities. The basis and decision criteria for new cooperations are: quality of the respective partner institution; fitting and transparency of the teaching content there; analogy of study and teaching periods; possibility of interdisciplinary cooperation and the probability of balanced mobility flows. In order to strengthen existing projects with Non EU-partners mobility KA107 projects were expanded. A new project with Egypt was added in 2016, with partners in Namibia in 2017. Mobility projects with Argentina and Kyrgyzstan, which BUW had already successfully established in the 2015-2017 project phase, were continued. Compared to the previous year, an increase of ~10.81% was achieved for SMS and SMP. In 2016, the recipients were particularly drawn to Great Britain, France and Spain. A total of 56 internships and 2 study visits, 2 teaching visits and 2 staff mobility in Great Britain, 8 internships, 11 study visits and 3 staff mobility in Spain as well as 11 internships, 6 study visits and 1 teaching mobility in France were supported. In order to achieve the goal of significantly increasing student mobility abroad, BUW is focusing on promoting internships abroad by target group oriented consulting on funding opportunities, as well as intensive preparation and support in internal university projects. For example, in Project 2016, for the first time as many students will be sponsored for an internship abroad (82) as for a study mobility (82). Of a total of 82, 63 internships were completed at a school (~76.73%), 51 of which took part in the ""Internship Abroad"" (PrimA) project. This means that a total of ~62.12% of the internships supported can be attributed to PrimA, which was developed as a project for quality assurance in the training of foreign language teachers. It enables teacher training students to gain intercultural training experience at schools in the UK, France, Spain, Turkey and Ecuador. Participants not only immerse themselves in everyday school life in other European countries, but also take part in the transnational discourse on innovative concepts of European and inclusive education across sector boundaries of the education system. By participating, participants also fulfil the admission requirements for the Master of Education: The NRW Teacher Training Act stipulates that teacher training students of modern foreign languages must spend at least three months abroad. Staff mobility increased by ~35.3% compared to the previous project phase, with ~16.6% more STT mobility (14) than planned in the grant agreement (12). Overall, there was a significant shift in personnel mobility during the reporting period. Whereas in the past mainly STA mobility was promoted, in 2016 more STT mobility was supported for the first time."