"Over a period of 15 years, FH JOANNEUM has continuously increased its international activities and is currently one of the leading Universities of Applied Sciences in Austria when it comes to student and staff mobility as well as international projects. FH JOANNEUM cooperates with more than 160 partner universities within the ERASMUS+ programme and another 50 universities in non-participating countries. Within the ERASMUS+ programme FH JOANNEUM has decided to focus on the establishment of strategic partnerships and quality assurance measures in all areas of mobility to further promote the internationalization process of the institution. Since FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences is convinced that mobility opportunities for study and work abroad will increase our students' intercultural competence development and therefore help them to gain the key skills for the jobs of the future, one of the main objectives remains to cooperate with the best universities in our academic fields with a particular focus on central and northern Europe. When looking for new partner institutions, academic quality and degree programme compatibility shall be prioritized over regional aspects. We nevertheless strive to balance our international network in order to provide a representative regional selection to our students and staff when looking for mobility opportunities. Over the period of the Erasmus+ programme, FH JOANNEUM aims to increase its student mobility both in terms in quality and quantity. We hope to achieve a mobility rate of 20% in all our degree programmes in the 1st cycle. Students shall be provided with a choice of semester-long study abroad, short study abroad options or international internship opportunities. In the first year of Erasmus+ FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences achieved notable exchange numbers, considering an overall student number of 4000. All in all - 175 students spent a semester abroad at one of our partner universities- 132 students completed a traineeship - 22 staff did a teaching mobility- 25 staff took part in the staff mobility for training programmeThe International Office (IO) plays an important role in securing the required services - it advises the management team, the rector and heads of degree programs on strategic aspects of internationalization, manages more than 200 partnership agreements with universities all over the world and also acts as the central service point for around 250 outgoing students, 130 Erasmus interns and 50 outgoing staff every year. It provides detailed information and advice about:- Partner universities- Grants and scholarships- Summer schools- ECTS and accreditation- Internships abroad- Erasmus applications and the relevant administrative processes- Visa requirements and health insuranceand organizes information sessions for students and staff, a yearly Study Abroad Fair, intercultural preparation seminars and welcome-back events.For more than 250 incoming students and staff the IO provides:- General information and advice- Acceptance of nominations- Online application support- Acceptance letters- Information and support concerning accommodation, visa and residence permit- Buddy programme- Intensive German courses and Orientation programme before the semester start- Support with administrative issues - Continuous ongoing support- German courses on all levels during the semester- ÖSD (Austrian language diploma) exam centre- Tandem programme- Excursions to Vienna and Salzburg- Intercultural activities (Tandem cooking, culture nights, movie nights, international parties, hiking tours, Karaoke-nights?).In order to provide also students/staff who - for one reason or another - have never lived abroad with an international and intercultural experience, FH JOANNEUM has put a focus on ""Internationalisation at Home"" activities. They get the opportunity of experiencing diverse cultures and languages right on their own doorstep. It raises their awareness that intercultural skills also have an important role to play even on home ground and that the experiences gained can be of benefit later on, helping them with challenges they may face in their future professional lives. Examples for I@H activities are the TANDEM-programme, Buddy-project, international nights, pub quizzes, hiking tours and sports programmes as well as the organisation of an international incoming staff week, which takes place every other year and where all departments at FH JOANNEUM are invited meet with their colleagues and share work and cultural experience."

"FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences (FHJ), located on three campuses in the federal region of Styria, Austria, offers around 50 degree programs and has a student body of around 5000 students. As University of Applied Sciences in a second-tier European city, FHJ strives to educate qualified graduates for the local economy and companies. Whereas FHJ's roots are definitely local, its reaches out to the world with its branches and twigs. FHJ has 280 partner universities in more than 50 countries, of which about 50 universities in 20 countries are located outside the ERASMUS programme region. FHJ has been engaged in R&D projects with universities worldwide. FHJ sends 250 students out a year, and receives the same share (student mobility for studies only, traineeships not included). Roughly 70% of these students go to/come from ERASMUS programme countries. There has always been a lack of funding for academic mobility with countries outside ERASMUS, motivating FHJ to participate in the first call of ERASMUS+ KA107. This introduction outlines the context of the project. FHJ has been carrying out exchange activities with academic institutions outside ERASMUS countries since 2002, but has not yet had access to reliable public sources of financing. For the first call, FHJ decided to start on a small scale because we did not yet know what could be expected. FHJ applied for funds for exchange activities with already existing partners it strived to strenghten ties with. Mobilities with four countries and six academic institutions - National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU), Perm State University (PSU), Voronezh State University, (VSU), Russia; Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile (USACH), Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica, Costa Rica (ITCR) and Caucasus University, Georgia (CU) - were finally approved by the National Agency. TPU and PSU were actually not active, all activities with Russia were carried out with VSU in the end. The objective of participating in the first Call of KA107, and in subsequent calls, has been to - establish formal and reliable ways to finance academic mobility with countries outside the ERASMUS programme region- strenghtening ties with universities outside the ERASMUS programme region where FHJ - has common academic interests with - has been running European Research projects with (under ERASMUS+ Capacity Building, Tempus IV, etc) - or is planning/already offering a Double Degree with (VSU, USACH). The original contract had foreseen the participation of 2 students and 6 teaching staff members. After the interim report, one mobility for Georgia and one mobility for Russia could be added. So there were 10 beneficiaries, of which - 2 were incoming students (from ITCR - undergraduate and male; and CU- graduate, female), - 8 were teaching and staff mobilities - 2 incoming teachers (1 senior and 1 intermediate, 1 taught on graduate level and 1 on undergraduate level, both male) - 1 incoming staff member for training (1 senior staff member from VSU, male, to be trained on implementation of European academic exchange projects) - and 5 outgoing teachers (4 seniors and 1 junior, 3 taught on graduate and 2 on undergraduate level, 4 male and 1 female teachers). The incoming students were integrated in programs FHJ offers, together with domestic students: The graduate student participated in the ""Business of Emerging Markets"" Master program. The undergraduate student participated in the bachelor program ""Internet Technology and Management"". The ECTS credits the students gained are about to be fully recognized by their respective home universities.One of the incoming teachers taught within the Global Business Program which is offered by FHJ's institute of International Business for undergraduate students. One incoming teacher taught within the graduate program ""Banking and Insurance Industries"".The outgoing teachers taught in the fields of Tourism (1), Banking in Europe (1), Project Management (1), Business and Administration (2). The project results are strenghtened ties with the partner organizations, with one particular long-term benefit - the project activities helped to finalize a Double Degree agreement between FHJ and Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH). All the activities carried out were perceived of mutual benefit. All four active partner universities were included in subsequent KA107 calls."

This is a higher education student and staff mobility project, please consult the website of the organisation to obtain additional details.

"Over a period of almost 20 years, FH JOANNEUM has continuously increased its international activities and is currently one of the leading Universities of AppliedSciences in Austria when it comes to student and staff mobility as well as international projects. FH JOANNEUM cooperates with more than 230 partneruniversities within the ERASMUS+ programme (KA103) and another 70 universities in countries out of Europe (including KA107). Within the ERASMUS+ programme FH JOANNEUM hasdecided to focus on the establishment of strategic partnerships and quality assurance measures in all areas of mobility to further promote the internationalisationprocess of the institution. Since FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences is convinced that mobility opportunities for study and work abroad will increase ourstudents' intercultural competence development and therefore help them to gain the key skills for the jobs of the future,one of the main objectives remains tocooperate with the best universities in our academic fields with a particular focus on central and northern Europe. When looking for new partner institutions,academic quality and degree programme compatibility shall be prioritized over regional aspects. We nevertheless strive to balance our international network inorder to provide a representative regional selection to our students and staff when looking for mobility opportunities. Over the period of the Erasmus+ programme,FH JOANNEUM aims to increase its student mobility both in terms in quality and quantity. We hope to achieve a mobility rate of 20% in all our degreeprogrammes. Students shall be provided with a choice of semester-long study abroad, short study abroad options or international internship opportunities.In the fourth year of Erasmus+ FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences achieved notable exchange numbers, considering an overall student body of about4500. In the framework of KA103- 138 students spent a study semester abroad- 160 students completed a traineeship- 28 staff did a teaching mobility- 31 staff took part in the staff mobility for training programmesThe International Office (IO) plays an important role in securing the required services - it advises the management directors and heads of degree programmeson strategic aspects of internationalisation, manages more than 300 partnership agreements with universities all over the world and acts as the centralservice point for around 220 outgoing students, 160 Erasmus interns and 60 outgoing staff every year. It provides detailed information and advice about:- Partner universities- Grants and scholarships- Summer schools- ECTS and accreditation- Internships abroad- Erasmus applications and the relevant administrative processes- Visa requirements and health insuranceand organises information sessions for students and staff, a yearly International Fair, intercultural preparation seminars and welcome-back events.For close to 280 incoming students and staff the IO provides:- General information and advice- Online application support- Information and support concerning accommodation, visa and residence permits- Intensive German courses and Orientation programme before the semester start- Support with administrative issues- Continuous ongoing support- a vast range of German and intercultural courses during the semester- ÖSD (Austrian language diploma) exam centre- Tandem programme- Excursions to places of interest in Austria- Intercultural activities (Tandem cooking, cultural nights, movie nights, international parties, hiking tours, Karaoke-nights, Charity events, intercultural sports programme…).In order to provide also students/staff who - for one reason or another - have never lived abroad with an international and intercultural experience, FH JOANNEUMhas put a focus on ""Internationalisation at Home"" activities. They get the opportunity of experiencing diverse cultures and languages right on their own doorstep. Itraises their awareness that intercultural skills also have an important role to play even on home ground and that the experiences gained can be of benefit later on,helping them with challenges they may face in their future professional lives. Examples for I@H activities are the TANDEM-programme, Buddy-project,international nights, pub quizzes, hiking tours and sports programmes, international cooking courses as well as the organisation of an international incoming staffweek which takes place every other year and where all departments at FH JOANNEUM are invited to meet with their colleagues and share work and cultural experience. Since the beginning of2016 a strong effort has been made to integrate refugees into the IRO's activities and to provide them with access to training and education. More than 150refugees have participated in our German language courses and intercultural activities and FH JOANNEUM has established numerous cooperations with otherorganisations in various fields."

This action supports physical and blended mobility of higher education students and staff from/to third countries not associated to Erasmus+. 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.