Arqus promotes internationalisation opportunities at the University of Granada campuses of Ceuta and Melilla.

The University of Granada campuses of Ceuta and Melilla gathered around 60 students each on 22 October and 29 October, respectively, due to a series of meetings and talks with students, academics, and administrative staff to promote mobility, language exchange, and international training through the programmes and opportunities offered by the Alliance. 

These events are part of a series of Arqus meetings held at different centres and faculties of the University of Granada. The purpose of these meetings is to learn and propose actions to improve mobility, language exchange and international training through the programmes and opportunities offered by the Arqus Alliance, bringing together nine partner universities across Europe.

Ceuta campus meetings

At the Ceuta campus, the meetings were organised by the heads of the Arqus Alliance in the autonomous the city: Beatriz Cortina, senior lecturer at the Department of Didactics of Language and Literature (Faculty of Education, Economics and Technology of the Ceuta Campus), and María Gázquez, assistant lecturer at the Department of Nursing (Faculty of Health Sciences of the Ceuta Campus).

Both emphasised the importance of international mobility and the opportunities for students and teaching and technical staff offered by the Alliance to improve skills and knowledge in a European and international context, highlighting Ceuta’s unique geographical and social characteristics as a strength for lecturers, researchers and students.

Guadalupe Soriano, Arqus Institutional Coordinator at the University of Granada, expressed gratitude for the support of both faculties to the Alliance initiatives. Later, a meeting of the executive team of the Faculty of Education, Economics and Technology of the Ceuta Campus was held, where specific proposals to strengthen Arqus programmes on the Ceuta Campus were studied.

The meeting was attended by the Dean, María José Aznar; the Academic Secretary, María Eugenia Rodríguez; the Vice-Dean of International Relations, Raúl Fernández; the Vice-Dean of Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, Javier Blanco, and the Vice-Dean of Academic Organization and Entrepreneurship, Gabriel García-Parada.

The Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Ceuta Campus, José Luis Gómez, also took part in the meeting, encouraging faculty members to submit proposals in response to open Arqus calls related to teaching and mobility.

Finally, Javier Díaz, communications officer at the Arqus local team of the UGR, responded to questions and concerns from around thirty students interested in international mobility, micro-credentials and language learning opportunities offered by Arqus.

Melilla campus meetings

This time, the meetings were promoted by the heads of the Arqus Alliance at the Melilla Campus of the University of Granada: María Amaya Epelde, senior lecturer at the Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Body Expression and Vice-Dean of Student Services, University Outreach and Internationalisation at the Faculty of Education and Sport Sciences of the Melilla Campus; Manuel Ruiz-Adame, senior lecturer of economics at the Department of Applied Economics and Vice-Dean of Research, Transfer and Internationalisation at the Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences in Melilla; and Marta Linares, lecturer at the Department of Nursing and Vice-Dean of Mobility, Cooperation and Transfer at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Melilla. 

Guadalupe Soriano, the Arqus UGR Institutional Coordinator, emphasised the importance of sharing experiences and best practices in order to promote the internationalisation of the Melilla Campus, highlighting the campus’s strengths and encouraging teachers to suggest Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) or Twinning projects with other alliance partners, given that applications for BIPs was open until 15 November. 

The Arqus Communities of Practice were also explored in depth as an opportunity for the administrative staff to enhance their capabilities and optimise their resources. One example of it was the Arqus Libraries of the Future project, in which technical staff from the UGR library in Melilla participated. 

Javier Díaz, Arqus communications officer at the UGR, encouraged students to participate in various open calls, such as the Arqus Students Ambassadors and the Arqus Café calls.

Finally, the importance of multilingualism was emphasised, also with reference to the work of the Arqus Cafés and the A1 and A2 courses in various Alliance languages, highlighting Cultural exchange too, which is one of Arqus’s priorities and represents both an opportunity and a challenge in the autonomous city of Melilla.