Arqus opens the Twinning call 2021/2022

Arqus Twinning 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 with a priority in Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH) and STEM disciplines.

Twinning is perceived as the mobility of a team, consisting of 1 teacher and 3-6 students, moving to another partner institution within the same subject area. The length of the visit is 3-5 days (+2 additional days for travel).

Twinning activities may vary in mode and type. They may include internships, group trips, participation in international contests, joint workshops, summer schools, group projects, etc. Twinning activities might be implemented through regular (physical) or blended Twinning activities.

Examples of possible Twinning activities:

• 6 students of sociology and their teacher from Bergen travel to Granada for 5 days to have workshops with their counterparts and compare societal interactions in different countries.
• Students of a business administration programme in Vilnius are working virtually on a common practical project together with students from Leipzig (blended Twinning activity). At the end of the project, the teacher from Vilnius travels to Leipzig for 3 days with 6 students to complete and present the results of the project to a business company.

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:

The Alliance has agreed on general financial terms upon which the calculations of travel and subsistence costs are made. The maximum project funded grant may be awarded for a group consisting of 1 teacher and up to 6 students:

• Travel costs: 400 EUR per person.
• Individual support: 120 EUR per day, covering the whole duration of the visit (3-5 days+2 additional days for travel).

Application deadlines and procedures:

Academics can apply for Twinning activities by filling in this application.

• The call is open from 13th December 2021 to 1st February 2022. 
• Start of period eligible for Twinning visits: March 2022.
• End of period eligible for Twinning visits: end of September 2022.

Selection criteria:

• Applications in Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH) and STEM disciplines are prioritised. Applications from other disciplines will be considered too.
• Sustainability of the action (prior joint activities with host university and/or further and follow-up activities after the Twinning); the benefit of the activities to sending and receiving institutions.
• Innovativeness of the proposed activity and impact for Arqus development.

Grant notification will be provided to applicants by 28th February 2022. If your application is approved, funding is earmarked for use until the end of September of 2022. Postponing the activity after this period is not possible. After the visit, applicants need to report on the final results of their Twinning visit compared to the aims stated in the application.

The report should be submitted within 1 month after the Twinning visit to the responsible coordinator of the University (contacts below). The form for reporting is uploaded on the Arqus webpage.

Contact information:

In case of any questions related to Twinning activities, please, contact the local coordinator of each University:

• University of Bergen:

Kristin Torp Skogedal, Institutional Erasmus Coordinator.

Kristin.Skogedal@uib.no, +4755589026.

• University of Graz:

Diana Afrashteh, Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinator.

diana.afrashteh@uni-graz.at, +43 316 380 1247.

• University of Granada:

Inma Yuste Martínez, Project Officer of Arqus European University Alliance.

arqus@ugr.es, +34 958 241990.

• Leipzig University:

Isabelle Maringer, International Mobility and Project Funding Coordinator.

isabelle.maringer@zv.uni-leipzig.de , +49 341 97-32030.

• University of Lyon:

Gustavo Insaurralde, Head of International Cooperation Unit (UJM).

gustavo.daniel.insaurralde@univ-st-etienne.fr, +33477437975.

• University of Padova:

Samira Bonucci, International Officer.

international.projects@unipd.it, +390498276353.

• Vilnius University:

Lina Malaiškaitė, Developer of Studies.

lina.malaiskaite@cr.vu.lt, +37052687076.