Quality in English-Taught Internationalised Curricula

The present project strongly promotes internationalisation through its contribution to the establishment of a quality culture in English-taught Internationalised Curricula (ETIC). While it is true that most Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Europe actively promote internationalization, their priorities and degrees of internationalisation vary, and are determined by, national, regional and institutional interests. While this diversity is the heart of the concept of internationalisation, it can also be problematic when it comes to implementing ETIC. There is often no consensus within HEIs, and even less so across HEIs, on the additional learning opportunities an internationalised curriculum should offer and the structures necessary to learn new skills, notably intercultural and communication skills in a foreign medium. This often leads to problems (e.g. staff language or teaching competences, curriculum design and planning, recruitment, entry requirements, exit competences, etc.) which are resolved individually and in unsystematic ways, taking into account the financial capacities of local decision-makers rather than relying on transnationally valid guidelines. The present project addresses this problem in that it not only draws attention to quality as a key factor in the establishment of ETIC but also offers specific implementation guidelines for HEIs wishing to set up and / or improve their ETIC. Formal recognition of internationalised curricula is another key priority in this project. The diversity of approaches in ETIC leads to questions concerning recognition of additional learning benefits. Many HEIs develop their own ways of recognising the additional academic effort made in joining ETIC, but the value of this is unclear in a transnational context. The present project addresses this problem by defining more specific quality standards needed for students to exploit the full potential of ETIC and facilitate formal transnational recognition.
This project also actively promotes student and teacher mobility not only through its networking activities but also by helping HEIs implement improved ETIC. The project is in line with Bologna principles as it actively promotes language learning, intercultural learning and recognition of skills and study programmes.