New Perspectives through Erasmus Exchange

Internationalization at home

Have you ever asked yourself what administration and teaching is like at top universities like Oxford or the Sorbonne? Probably everything is better organized… But is that really so? See for yourself! The University of Cologne offers its central and decentral administration employees the possibility to visit a European university in the framework of the Erasmus “Staff Mobility” program. This gives them the opportunity to get to know the university, the country and the people.

A report by Svenja Rausch

“As an academic staff member of the Master’s degree admission office of the UoC’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, I process about 1,000 external and 500 internal Master’s degree applications per year. Getting to know the admission procedures of another European university was very interesting for me,” Sylvia Strick explains. She has been working in the Faculty’s administration for many years and visited Central European University in Budapest in the framework of the program. “I got many new stimuli for my work here in Cologne. Particularly in the area of public relations, there was a lot to learn.”

The program allows staff members to go abroad for a minimum of five days to a university in any EU country (plus Norway and Turkey) to get acquainted with everyday work there. Participants do not necessarily have to visit departments that directly correspond to their responsibilities at home. If all sides agree, they can also visit other areas. It is all about getting an impression of the other institution and a feel for the other culture. What matters most is exchange and dialogue among people.

“I was able to convince the University of Birmingham to take part in the exchange program. The press team there took the Erasmus program to literally imply ‘exchange.’ So before I went to England, we hosted a visitor from Birmingham. Stuart spent a week with us at the UoC’s Press and Communications Department in July 2015. Before he arrived, we devised a detailed schedule for him. We wanted to show him as many facets of our work as possible.” Sebastian Grote is an editor at the University of Cologne’s Press and Communications Department. His priority was to spend time at a British university – not just to polish up his English, but also because he had never been to the British Isles before. “I can definitely recommend the University of Birmingham for a staff mobility visit.”

Steffi Frommhold, a program manager at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, also brought back many positive impressions from Great Britain. She visited the Durham University Business School. “I was curious to find out how degree programs are managed at an English business school – its structures, procedures and the challenges people there face. And I wanted to boost my English language skills. My contact person in Durham was really helpful and organized many meetings for me. That way, I was able to exchange experiences with many English colleagues on degree program management in Cologne and Durham.” 

All employees working in the UoC’s central and decentral administration are eligible to apply – from directors to secretaries, and from areas as diverse as finance, library, management and printing. Internationality touches all university employees. We come in contact with international students and researchers in all areas of university administration, not only in the faculties and departments. Hence all central and decentral areas of the university should be multilingual, open-minded and understanding.

Dr. Kirsten Schäfer confirms this: “In my everyday work as a head of division and as the coordinator of the UoC’s Institutional Strategy, I often have to deal with academic issues of international scope. At Charles University in Prague, I had many interesting talks with colleagues working at the faculties and in the university administration.”

Sabine Haberer Tchao manages the library of the Chair for Civil Law and Theory of Law. She spent a week at the library of the European University Institute (EUI) in Fiesole near Florence in Italy: “The EUI library is in an old restored monastery surrounded by beautiful gardens and villas housing other departments of the institute. From the terrace of the main building, Badia Fiesolana, in which the library is also located, you have a beautiful view across the valley to Florence. Rarely in my life have I experienced such a beautiful work atmosphere. From the beginning, my interactions with other people at the EUI, who come from all over Europe, were very cordial. People were very generous with their time and allowed me to get a very thorough impression of the way the library works.” What about language skills? “Due to its international orientation, the working language of the institute is exclusively English.”