Margaret Pate  

English teacher @ PoliTO

Host university: KTH

Kind of mobility: Staff training/teaching

What did you do?

I co-taught parts of the course and participated in the other parts.

Unite! & you

I was acquainted with Unite! prior to this experience, as I had previously participated at the Grenoble dialogue

How did this experience increase your sense of belonging to Unite!?

I met some professors from other participant universities who I would be very happy to meet and collaborate with in the future. 

What are your expectations for Unite?

That they begin to get teachers and students more involved.  

Viola Mayerhofer

Librarian @ TU Graz

Host university: KTH

Kind of mobility: individual mobility

What did you do?

I spent one week “Job Shadowing” in the KTH Library. I engaged with staff from various departments, discussing their work and gaining insight into ongoing projects.

What made you choose a Unite! partner?

Since we were already partners, it made sense to choose KTH for mobility. The similarities between KTH and TU, particularly in size, made it a practical and comparable choice.

What did you gain? ​

I met wonderful people, observed great best practice examples and workflows and took home a lot of inspiration with me. I also gained a broader understanding of KTH as an institution.

What are your expectations for Unite?

I expect Unite! to provide opportunities for easy networking, sharing ideas across Europe, and potentially collaborating on joint projects. I also hope to maintain ongoing exchanges and build long-term relationships.

Any tips?

Go for it! It’s an enriching experience that will inspire both you and your colleagues! 

Pawel Sokolowsky

Assistant professor @ Wroclaw University of Science and Technology

Host university:  Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · Barcelona Tech - UPC

Kind of mobility:  Individual mobility for sub-community meeting

What did you do?

I was involved in two days of working meetings and discussions related to one of the projects implemented by Unite! network. 

What did you gain?

What is the most important - I had a possibility to personally meet colleagues from different Unite! universities. We were working remotely for several months and finally I had a chance to work all together in person.

What made you choose a Unite! partner?

 The mobility was definitely helpful to increase the feeling of belonging to the Unite! community. In that term, there is nothing better than meeting colleagues in person and having a common discussion face to face.  

What are your expectations for Unite?

My expectations are pretty simple: mobility, cross-cultural and cross-border collaboration, meeting new and exciting people, carrying out new and challenging tasks. I already had a small chance to meet those expectations.

 

Joan Giralt

ICT area @ UPC

Host university:  Universidade de Lisboa

Kind of mobility:  staff training week

What did you do?

During this week the communication representatives of the nine Unite! Partner universities worked together on the definition of the strategy for Unite!’s Social Media channels. The week included theorical and practical session, so that everyone achieves a common level of understanding of each social media channel (Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram). 

What did you gain from this experience?

I gained skills in facilitating and international team thorugh collaboration techniques, I learnt about social media strategy and about the history of the Lisboa University

What made you choose a Unite! partner?

Because the project is a Unite! Project and some people of the team invited us.

What are your expectations for Unite?

I expect Unite! To be a way for students and staff to normally internationalize

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Robin Breit

Staff member of the Language Resource Centre  @ TUDarmstadt

Host university: KTH

Kind of mobility: Staff training

What did you gain from this experience?

Every institution in Unite! is different. However, we often find out that we have similar issues or targets. I gained several ideas and insights from my colleagues at KTH who sometimes do things differently. and I will keep their approaches in mind for my future work at TUDa.  

What did you do?

I visited the Division of Language and Communication of the Department of Learning in Engineering Sciences at KTH. I had several meetings with different staff members about fields of work we are both involved in (e.g. Language Policy, Languages Café, Tandem program, teaching languages at universities). In addition, we set up a local meeting to work on some Unite! topics of our M&M Expert Group (Cm. 4.3).

What made you choose a Unite! partner?

I am active in the Unite! Expert Team for Multilingualism & Multiculturalism (C. 4.3) and found out that they have units different from ours at TUDa, which deal with languages. It also helped a lot that my Unite! colleague could point out people with whom it may be most interesting to exchange ideas and experiences.    

Unite! & you

I already knew Unite! since I am an active member in the Unite! Expert Team for Multilingualism & Multiculturalism (C. 4.3). I  definitely use the opportunity of staff mobility! If you want to meet people that work in your area of work, it might be very helpful to meet a local member who is already active in Unite!. This person can surely help to identify a person in your area of work and help you to identify the person who is responsible for staff mobility.

What are your expectations for Unite?

I would like to see more staff exchanges with members who are not (yet) expert team or community members. I met at KTH, for example, with people who are not (yet) actively involved in Unite!, but who are nevertheless experts in their fields. I would also love to see language course offers in all Unite! languages for all students and staff members at Unite! partner universities.