Erasmus+ Mobility Grant for Teaching Purposes – Inspiration - Ansatt

How to use the Erasmus+ Mobility Grant for Teaching Purposes

How to use the Erasmus+ Mobility Grant for Teaching Purposes

We have gathered some examples of how to use the Erasmus+ Mobility Grant for professional development.
  • New perspectives on library services

    In the autumn 2022, Jamie Johnston, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences (SAM), Department of Archivistics, Library and Information Science visited the Jagiellonian University and University of Warsaw (main host institution) in Poland as a part of her Erasmus+ staff mobility for teaching.

    How did you use the staff mobility grant for teaching purposes?   

    I used my grant to travel to the University of Warsaw (the main host institution) and Jagiellonian University (Krakow) in Poland for one week visits at each university. The faculties at both universities invited me to hold lectures in their classes related to my recent and current research on library professionals, library programming for immigrants and library services to refugees. This provided me with a wonderful opportunity to engage in dialogue about research with both students and the faculties at the two universities.  

    The faculties also arranged for me to visit numerous public libraries in Warsaw and Krakow to learn about how they are working to respond to the needs of the recent influx of Ukrainian refugees and to discuss the related research and best practices from the Nordic countries.  

    The faculties at both the University of Warsaw and Jagiellonian university are research partners, both formally and informally. Visiting the departments provided an opportunity to meet the researchers (in person) with whom we have and will be collaborating with, as well as other researchers in the departments with whom we might also collaborate.  

    This was also an opportunity to discuss the possibilities for student and faculty exchange at OsloMet with both students and the faculties. It also provided me with an opportunity to meet the Polish students who are taking OsloMet’s hybrid course in International Project Collaboration: BOBCATSSS Conference, for which I am the course coordinator.  

    What did you learn? 

    From the dialogue with students and the faculties, I gained insights and was able to reflect on my own research in new ways, both theoretically and methodologically. I was also able to learn about how other Library and Information Science departments are working with and approaching topics taught at OsloMet. 

    The visits to the libraries opened my eyes to the ways libraries and, in particular, library staff in Poland are responding to the crisis and their role in the overall response, which has both similarities and difference to similar work being done in the Nordic countries and internationally.  

    As this was the first time I have travelled to Poland, the experience served to broaden my horizon and gave me new perspectives, which helped me to challenge my assumptions and break out of my routine ways of thinking.     

    What did you bring back to OsloMet?  

    The observations and new knowledge that I gained from the library visits will be taken directly to the classroom and used in teaching students about the social role of libraries, libraries and inclusion, library services to immigrants and refugees, and how libraries can support community resilience in times of crisis.   

    Library staff at the libraries that I visited indicated that they were open to working directly with library students at OsloMet, such as by offering student internships and opportunities for project-based learning activities. This is a great opportunity for students to gain international perspectives and experiences!  

    The new insights and reflections gained from the discussions with students, the faculties and library professionals, as well as library users, in Warsaw and Krakow have informed my ongoing research on library services to refugees and have been used to develop my research tools. This ensures that we, at OsloMet and the Department of Archivistics, Library and Information Science, are conducting research that has a strong basis in practice, as well as international relevance. 

  • Teaching and Researching in Rome

    In the autumn 2018, Kamilla Freyr, Assistant Professor at the Department of Art Design and Drama (TKD) was teaching and researching at Tor Vergata University of Rome together with Åsa Arketeg from Södertörn University in Sweden.  

    How did you use the staff mobility grant for teaching purposes?   

    We were teaching art history for master’s degree students. The focus was on the relationship between art communication and aesthetic experience.   

    We were also given the opportunity to write and research at the Norwegian Institute in Rome. The institute is located on the Gianicolo hill with the view towards the district of Trastevere. We could not exactly complain about the view! You really get the feeling of what aesthetics can do for your job satisfaction!  

    What did you learn?  

    In a Nordic context, philosophic aesthetics is a relatively small field of study. Thus, it is very important, both for students and researchers to establish strong cooperation networks within the field. Erasmus+ mobility grants for both students and employees provides an amazing opportunity to establish such networks!  

    What did you bring back to OsloMet?  

    Whether you are a student or an employee, seize the opportunity to go out in the world on an Erasmus+ mobility grant! This experience provided us with interesting professional acquaintances, exciting challenges and new perspectives that we will bring with us in both research and teaching.  

  • Organised Pewter Casting Workshop in Edinburgh

    In the autumn 2014, Einar Stoltenberg, at the time Senior Lecturer (now Head of Department) at the Department of Product Design (TKD), was teaching at Edinburgh Napier University.  

    How did you use the staff mobility grant for teaching purposes?  

    I participated in organising a pewter workshop for 30 product design students at the university in the capital of Scotland. The purpose of the workshop was to provide the students with good experience with working with materials, in addition to teaching them to master different techniques.  

    Unlike the buildings at OsloMet, Campus Kjeller, the study locations at Edinburgh Napier University, School of Arts & Creative Industries are quite small. There are no individual studios where you can work with metals, as we have at Kjeller. So, we decided to organise the workshop on the beach. But also, to create a unique setting.  

    What did you learn?  

    Even though our courses last longer, Edinburgh Napier has a more «fast and dirty» approach. They offer efficient projects with short deadlines and courses are often run at the same time.  

    The students learn a lot about efficiency and delivering through this approach. They touch upon many subjects. However, they are not capable of working closer with the different subjects. I believe both approaches are good, and that a variation might be the best.  

    What did you bring back to OsloMet? 

    We wanted to increase the understanding of materials and techniques. The workshop activities are acceptable, but we still want to increase the students understanding of the materials. So, why do we not organise more workshops based on materials and techniques, preferably outside our own studios on campus?  

    This question eventually led to a suggestion to carry out a voluntary one-day workshop once a month. 

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