Twinning 2.0 projects

Arqus launches Twinning 2.0, an initiative that aims to strengthen the subject-related collaboration of staff and students and create possibilities to carry out joint learning and teaching activities through piloting short-term mobility schemes.

Twinnings consist of an international mobility programme for two groups from two Arqus universities, made by 1 lecturer and 3 to 5 students, reciprocally visiting each other’s partner institution to carry out a common programme and share mutual learning experiences.

The length of the visits is 3-5 days (and 2 additional days for travel) and activities may vary in mode and type. They may include group trips, participation in international contests, joint workshops, summer schools, group projects, etc. Twinning activities might be implemented through regular (physical) mobility or even blended learning, foreseeing the interaction between the groups beyond the duration of their stays abroad.

An example of a possible Twinning 2.0 project

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Five students of sociology and their professor from Maynooth travel to Granada for 5 days to have workshops with their counterparts and compare societal interactions in different countries.

After that visit, a group of students from Granada are hosted in Maynooth for the second phase of their workshop and to present the results to the local community.

Please read here an interview with Leyre Morgado, a student of the Master’s Programme in Archaeology at the University of Granada that completed a Twinning stay at the University of Padua.

Funding

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The Twinning 2.0 initiative is mainly funded thanks to the Arqus Innovation Fund. Additional own fundings can be provided by each Arqus institution. The grant is meant to contribute to travel and subsistence costs afforded by students and its consistency is calculated as follows:

• Travel costs: 450 EUR per student;
• Individual support: 79 EUR per day per student (3 to 5 days for the activities plus 2 additional days for travel).
  

Travel and subsistence costs afforded by the lecturers can be covered by institutional own fundings or through Erasmus+ funding schemes. Applicants are invited to refer to the contact person at their university for advice on this matter (see list below).

Application deadlines and procedures

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The Twinning 2.0 call for applications may be downloaded below:

The call is open until 31^st May 2024.

• Start of period eligible for Twinning 2.0 visits: 1^st September 2024.
• End of period eligible for Twinning 2.0 visits: 30^th September 2025.

The application form must be submitted by one of the lecturers on behalf of both the partners.

Selection criteria

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• Applications related  to the main Arqus II themes (European Identity heritage, digital transformation and artificial intelligence; climate change and environmental sustainability) are prioritised. Applications based on other topics will also be considered;
• Sustainability of the action (expected institutional impact and follow-up activities);
• Learning outcomes;
• Implementation strategies;
• Impact on the institutions involved;
• Previous collaborations among the applicants in other programs.

Grant notification will be provided to applicants by 16^th July 2024.

Contact information

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In case of any questions related to Twinning activities, please refer to the contact person at your university: 

• University of Granada: Violeta García Arena violetagaren@ugr.es
• University of Graz: Julia Trattnig julia.trattnig@uni-graz.at 
• Leipzig University: Ninon Böhme arqus@uni-leipzig.de 
• University of Lyon 1: Geraldine Yon geraldine.yon@univ-lyon1.fr 
• Maynooth University: Alena Jurikova Alena.Jurikova@mu.ie
• University of Minho: Ana Esteves / Raquel Oliveira: usai@usai.uminho.pt
• University of PaduaEnrico Soncin enrico.soncin@unipd.it
• Vilnius University: Skirmante Savickaite skirmante.savickaite@cr.vu.lt
• University of Wroclaw: Urszula Broda urszula.broda@uwr.edu.pl

For general inquiries, please contact mobility-hub@arqus-alliance.eu.

Call published on 16 Apr 2024