Student mobility
One of the main objectives of the International Office is of course to encourage student mobility.
In this respect students can benefit from Erasmus grants for a study period or a work placement. All the practical information about those grants can be found under the heading ‘Outgoing students’ but you can also have a look at the FAQ document gathering the most frequent questions regarding the Erasmus+ mobility.
Study period
This kind of mobility may consist in a study period in a partner higher education institution, for example within the framework of the European Erasmus programme, but also in participating in projects or conferences abroad.
Thanks to this study period of 3, 6 or 12 months, the student can acquire new language skills while continuing to study.
In return we host students from our partner institutions. They spend a term or a full year here and perfectly fit into their new environment thanks to the International Office’s warm welcome.
Work placements
In the third year of their Bachelor the students from all three HEAJ departments must do a work placement (or several teaching placements for the education department) that allows them to prove they are able to work in a professional context. On that occasion a lot of students decide to combine this work experience with a stay abroad, possibly in a country with another language than French.
In order for those work placements to run as smoothly as possible the International Office is available to inform students about placement opportunities, among others through a database of companies that have already hosted trainees successfully. A descriptive sheet has been developed in order to target companies and their expectations.
Moreover contacts with various organizations allow the International Office to put students in touch with networks of companies that might be interested. Finally the Office informs students about the steps to take and about the possible grants.
Companies worldwide have already supervised trainees from the Haute École.
In general students apply to the company of their choice by themselves but in some cases collaborations are set up in order to facilitate contacts.
Teaching staff mobility
Teaching staff mobility is often neglected in international relations and should receive special attention as it enables teachers to compare good practices and the content of their courses with colleagues from other countries.
As for student mobility Erasmus offers grants for teaching assignments and for training.
Teaching assignments
Thanks to the Erasmus Charter and to the allocated funds our teachers have the opportunity to spend a week (or more) with one of our partners. Within this framework they teach for a minimum of 5 hours about their subject and take advantage of the situation to learn, exchange and get immersed in the culture of the country. They exchange good practices and discover other methodological approaches.
Those teaching assignments can be organized as an exchange with a partner that also sends a teacher who will spend at least a week in our institution. In that case too our students are confronted with another way of teaching and benefit from the specific knowledge of a foreign teacher with his or her own culture and skills.
Next to this those teaching assignments funded by the European Union can also be used to invite staff from enterprises, often professionals highly specialized in a specific domain who come and share their knowledge with our students for a few days. This allows students to meet field experts, to learn highly specialized techniques or to acquire constantly evolving skills in order to improve their training.
Training
Teachers and administrative staff also have the opportunity to follow a training linked to their professional practice in an EU country. This stay of minimum five days allows teachers to acquire new skills that would not necessarily be accessible in Belgium.
If you’re looking for a training, here are some interesting websites:
– Open Education Europa, Innovative Learning
– Cedefop, European center for the development of vocational training
– ISTF, French institute for training
– IDEC, Greek training courses organisation.
Academic research
Some exchanges aim to develop specific research projects.
These projects allow HEAJ teachers to improve the quality of their teaching skills and to enlarge their knowledge.
Existing projects
- In 2006 the economics department published a trilingual dictionary for Public Relations in cooperation with the San Martin de Porres University in Lima, Peru. A new version in four languages was published in 2007 thanks to a cooperation agreement with the Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen from Kortrijk, Belgium.
- Moreover a linguistic research project on Public Relations language is being developed in cooperation with the Région Wallonne and the Babes-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca (Romania). This three-year project is financed by the WBI (Wallonie-Bruxelles International).
- The education department currently cooperates with the Santiago de Chili University and the Chilean Ministry of Culture in the domain of cultural pedagogy, leading to an annual workshop on that topic.
Other types of mobility
Outside the Erasmus programme there are other opportunities for mobility and other international projects developed within the Haute Ecole.
Other grants
Like Erasmus grants the grants from the “Fonds de la mobilité de la Communauté française” (French Community mobility fund) offer students the opportunity to do study periods and work placements abroad, mainly in non EU countries.
Besides in some specific cases students can also ask other organizations for grants for their study periods and work placements (WBI, BIJ, AWEX, FOREM…).
Other international projects
For several years the education department has organized trips to Senegal where students can give classes in African schools under department teachers’ supervision. Moreover since 2007 future teachers can do their teaching placement in infant schools and primary schools in Quebec.
Thanks to a cooperation agreement with the Cégep de Sainte Foy from Quebec and the “Commission scolaire” of Laval, some students from the Digital and Creative Media Department and pedagogical department can do their work placement in Quebec, in schools or companies, under our partners’ supervision.
The economics department is currently carrying out a terminological research project in cooperation with the Lebanese University of Beyrout in the domain of Public Relations.
The Digital and Creative Media Department has signed an agreement with Sony under their Academic development program which allows students to develop projects on Sony Playstation video games platforms as well as access useful online resources.
Besides exchanges, research projects and work placements abroad the Haute Ecole Albert Jacquard also tries to open students and teachers to other cultures through extracurricular activities like trips abroad.
Moreover when conferences, exhibitions, festivals or fairs abroad can be interesting for students, teachers organize the journey to the event or inform students about the participation possibilities.