Internationalisation has become one of the key issues in present day European Higher Education. The term refers to the integration of an international dimension into the research, teaching and services function of higher education. It is a conscious action responding to the challenges brought about by globalisation. Virtual mobility, enabled by the use of educational technologies and e-coaching methodologies, has great potential to contribute to the internationalisation of higher education.
“Virtual mobility stands for the set of ICT supported activities that realise or facilitate international, collaborative experiences in a context of teaching and/or learning”.
Based on this definition, Virtual mobility activities can be categorised as follows:
Related to international student or staff exchanges
Related to an internationalised curriculum:
For the Move-IT project we are focusing on virtual mobility to facilitate a physical international exchange or to facilitate physical international internships. In this sense, virtual mobility is meant to serve as a complement to the existing exchange programmes in order to better prepare and follow-up students both before, during and after the exchange.
Definition:
“Virtual mobility stands for the set of ICT supported activities that realise or facilitate international, collaborative experiences in a context of teaching and/or learning”.
Types
Based on this definition, Virtual mobility activities can be categorised as follows:
Related to international student or staff exchanges
- Virtual mobility to facilitate a physical international exchange (blended)
- Virtual mobility to realise an international exchange, i.e. the student follows substantial parts of a programme at a distance, supported via ICT (virtual)
- Virtual mobility to facilitate physical international internships (blended)
- Virtual mobility to realise international internships (virtual)
Related to an internationalised curriculum:
- Virtual mobility as a scenario to internationalise a (part of a) course (chapter, exercise, task, project), programme, workshop, seminar, … This category can be either fully virtual or blended.
For the Move-IT project we are focusing on virtual mobility to facilitate a physical international exchange or to facilitate physical international internships. In this sense, virtual mobility is meant to serve as a complement to the existing exchange programmes in order to better prepare and follow-up students both before, during and after the exchange.
For more information about virtual and blended mobility projects and activities, please click on the links below: