European and international mobility of staff and students, including administrative staff and doctoral students, is an important practice for entrepreneurial HEIs. These opportunities are well understood to bring about positive outcomes to all stakeholders involved, and to maximise the benefits delivered entrepreneurial and innovative higher education institutions will be linking their mobility objectives with their entrepreneurial agenda, as well as their teaching and research strategies.
Mobility initiatives typically focus on teaching and research, in the case of staff, and on learning and practical experiences for students, though the format of mobility schemes can take a number of forms including virtual and green mobility. Partnership agreements with foreign HEIs promote joint delivery of courses, study programmes and research initiatives. Practical learning opportunities can also be organised through international volunteering and charity work, which also involve non-HEI organisations as mobility partners.
International mobility should explicitly foster inclusive and sustainable forms of mobility supported by suitable infrastructure and long-term dedicated resources to offer scholarships, mobility loans and daily support for staff and students during their stay abroad. A growing number of HEIs have established centrally organised international mobility and recruitment centres, often with branches abroad. HEIs should also take steps to actively encourage students and staff with further support provided to disadvantaged, vulnerable and underrepresented groups to take part in international mobility opportunities.
For mobility initiatives to contribute to organisation-wide knowledge exchange, their incorporation into broader teaching and research activities is important. For staff mobility, joint events and projects with the host organisation are ways of broadening the impact of mobility beyond the individual staff involved. For student mobility this includes accompanying services during mobility, opportunities to reflect on learning outcomes, and to share experiences with other students.
They would also be taking steps to attract international staff and students to their institution as well as have policies in place to incentivise, recognise and reward international inclusive and sustainable mobility. Universities should also be taking steps to ensure that the international and intercultural knowledge, skill and learning development opportunities that come to the fore through international mobility opportunities, are also available to students and staff that do not have access to mobility (including internationalisation at home and digital learning).
