This is a selection of most frequently asked questions from each section of the staff toolkit, for more information and details we invite you to visit each section.
Marketing and Communication
“How important is marketing for internationalization/mobility programs?” Marketing and communication helps to promote international programs for students and scholars. It will help students and to understand the advantages and nuances of international mobility. (for more details see MARCOM section).
What are the benefits of marketing it continuously? It will help freshman students and younger students to understand the possibilities that the university offers of going abroad. Additional help can be from the students who have already been abroad. The word-of-mouth can be an additional help to your marketing. (for more details see MARCOM section).
Finance
“What criteria should I take into account when I am going to distribute grants among different scholarship schemes?” Pay attention to criteria of funds distribution (geographical destination, disadvantaged background, merit) originating from various granting institutions. Financial sources for disadvantaged people can be connected to the standard scholarship. Be aware of diversification of funds which may be necessary (e.g. a specific fund may be dependent on achieving a certain number of formative credits and may not be used in all cases, for instance for recent graduates).
“Are mobility scholarships compatible with other scholarships or any other types of income? ” Consult relevant info/guide on possible incompatibilities both at the university and grant institution’s level (e.g Erasmus scholarships are incompatible with other scholarships granted by other European institutions).Consult regulations in terms of taxation of the scholarship (in most cases/countries scholarships for mobility periods are not subject to taxation and are compatible with work activity).
Health and Wellbeing
“I’m struggling with the workload” The difficulty of courses at your student’s host university is likely to be different from what they’re used to. If courses are harder in terms of content, workload or frequency of assessment, students can find this very stressful. It may be hard for them to know how to access academic support, or it may not be available. They are much less likely to have course friends to ask for help.
“Can I return home?” Although most students try their best to take advantage of their international experience, if they are really struggling, they may wish to return home from their exchange. Follow-up questions to this include implications of returning home, such as how this would impact their degree and financial implications.
"What does the university’s insurance cover" If a student finds themselves in a situation facing costs for medical attention whilst abroad, they may ask about the university’s insurance policy. It is always a good idea to provide students with the university’s insurance policy before they go, and to even incorporate a “how to make a claim” section they must review within their pre-departure risk assessment.
List of most frequent subjects for which students ask a question
Scholarship: “Is it possible to receive a scholarship?How should I apply for the scholarship?"As previously mentioned, it is vital to have a scholarship scheme which adapts to different calls and programmes. A scholarship is often the main form of financial support for students going abroad that will avoid them to excessively depend on the economic situation of the family. For this reason, students often ask for information on scholarships for mobility. It is necessary to have a clear plan and requirements for scholarship and possibly to publish a scheme on the website dedicated to mobility
Living cost: “What are the living costs? What is the cost of life?” Living costs are one of the variables that can influence students while deciding for which host country to apply. It is useful to publish a simple scheme of the living costs in your city/country to help incoming students to get a better understanding and overview.
Language “Which is the teaching language? Do I need to present a language certificate?" There are precise regulations concerning language for mobile students. Regulations must be clearly indicated on the website dedicated to students’ mobility.
Timetables “Where can I see the timetable of the courses and the programmes to design my learning agreement? Do you have information about the academic calendar of the host university?” This subject involved both incoming and outgoing students. Concerning incoming students, the most effective way to provide the information is to indicate the name and email address of the delegate for mobility in the appropriate department or to contact the didactic office of the department. Analogously, outgoing students can be forwarded to the mobility coordinator of the host university.
