FDI Projects in the field of Internationalization – Serviciul Relații Internaționale – Universitatea "Alexandru Ioan Cuza"din Iași

FDI Projects

PROJECT CNFIS-FDI-2024-F-0589 International Cooperation and Academic Development at UAIC

Field: Increasing the degree of internationalization of higher education in Romania

Approved budget: 399,000 lei

Project Director: Prof. Nelu-Cristian PLOSCARU, PhD Implementation period: 01.04.2024 – 16.12.2024

The project objectives, defined in accordance with the strategic institutional development plan of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, were:

Promoting UAIC’s educational offer among international students and partners, in order to increase the number of international students enrolled at UAIC in all study cycles, either for full degree studies or for study, research, or traineeship mobilities;
Increasing the visibility and promoting “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași and the Romanian language, culture, and civilization, by enhancing the degree of internationalization and the university’s visibility as a vector for promoting the values of Romanian culture and tradition;
Consolidating existing cooperation relations and developing new partnerships with member universities of the Coimbra Group, by intensifying academic exchanges and developing new joint educational and research projects, through participation in activities carried out within the Coimbra Group, in order to increase the university’s visibility at the international level;
Developing the research-development-innovation capacity at the institutional level (increasing the publication rate of scientific papers and creating new contacts for the development of joint research teams) through the participation of doctoral students, young teaching staff, and young researchers in international scientific events.

The following activities were carried out within the project at the International Relations Office:

Organization of the 7th edition of the JASSY International Summer School (July 8-19, 2024). The 2024 edition was attended by 74 participants from 15 countries (Algeria, Belgium, China, South Korea, Denmark, Germany, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Moldova, Romania, USA, Turkey, and Ukraine). They attended courses within 6 interdisciplinary modules and obtained 6 ECTS credits. The JASSY International Summer School will continue in 2025. Out of the 74 participants, meal and accommodation expenses were covered for 43 of them.
UAIC’s participation in an international student recruitment fair in Baku, Azerbaijan, between November 30 and December 1, 2024 (Fall 2024 Azerbaijan Fair Baku), with a delegation of 4 people. This activity was completed, with the approval of CNFIS, by conducting teaching and presentation visits of UAIC study programs in high schools in Baku, between December 2-6, 2024, with the participation of 4 other representatives from the faculties of Physics, Economics and Business Administration, Geography and Geology, and Letters, respectively. The promotion of UAIC’s educational offer was achieved by informing 355 high school and university students present at the fair.
Creation of informative and promotional materials for the university. The university’s internationalization strategy includes intensifying the participation of UAIC academic community members in international projects and mobilities, as well as developing collaborative relationships with partner universities and participating in international educational events. The proposed activity consisted of creating and purchasing guides for incoming students (500 pcs.), leaflets (3000 pcs.), flyers (5960 pcs.), and brochures (234 pcs.) presenting the university to international students and partners, in English, to be offered during international events, visits, and promotion fairs to candidates interested in studying at UAIC.
Supporting the organization of the International Summer Courses “Romania – Language and Civilization”, 52nd edition (July 17-31, 2024) by remunerating the professors who carried out activities during these summer courses. UAIC hosted 70 students, teachers, and researchers from 12 countries (China, South Korea, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Latvia, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Slovenia, and USA).
To achieve the objective of consolidating existing cooperation relations and developing new partnerships with Coimbra Group universities, 12 participations in activities organized within the Coimbra Group were funded: 9 participations in the General Assembly (Turku, June 4-7, 2024), one participation in the Research Support Officers Working Group meeting (Coimbra, November 7, 2024), one participation in the Employability Working Group meeting (Dublin, November 25-27, 2024), and one participation in the “Social Sciences & Humanities” Working Group meeting. UAIC’s active involvement in the activities of the Coimbra Group contributes to the development of new partnerships with partner universities for academic cooperation projects, with financial support from FDI projects being significant. We also mention, among the results obtained following the active involvement of UAIC representatives in the Coimbra Group working groups, the organization at UAIC of two international conferences: 1. High-Level Seminar on Education Policy (Generative) Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education, an international education conference in the European space dedicated to rectors and vice-rectors for academic activity from Coimbra Group member universities (November 21-22, 2024), an activity of the Education-Innovation working group, and 2. Old Cities, Former Capitals and the Nation-State Building in Europe (November 19-21, 2024), an activity of the Social Sciences and Humanities working group. These two international events will contribute to increasing the academic quality and visibility of UAIC and consolidating the university’s cooperation relations.
Developing the research-development-innovation capacity at the institutional level was also achieved through the participation in international scientific events of doctoral students, young teaching staff, and young researchers not included in research projects funded through other programs. Within the project, 26 participations in such events were funded with articles/posters/presentations. The conference participants are from the following faculties and doctoral schools: Biology, Law, Economics and Business Administration, Physics, Philological Studies, Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences, Geosciences, Computer Science, Psychology and Education Sciences. Of the 26 participants, 18 are doctoral students, 7 are teaching staff, and one participant is a researcher.

PROJECT CNFIS-FDI-2022-0606 – INTERNATIONALIZATION BY SUPPORTING ACADEMIC MOBILITY AND CAPACITIES FOR INVOLVEMENT IN EUROPEAN RESEARCH NETWORKS (ISMACIREC)

Field: Internationalization of higher education in Romania

Approved budget: 320,000 lei

Project Director: Prof. Andrei Corneliu HOLMAN, PhD

Implementation period: 01.04.2022 – 16.12.2022

The project objectives, defined in accordance with the strategic institutional development plan of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, were:

developing and promoting the educational offer in order to increase the number of international students enrolled at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași in all study cycles, for full degree studies;
increasing visibility and promoting “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași to support the achievement of the EHEA (European Higher Education Area) and the implementation of the Bologna process;
increasing the degree of “internationalization at home” across the entire university campus, by promoting international mobility and facilitating interaction between the local academic community and international guests;
developing the capacities of UAIC academic community members to design and implement European research projects;
developing the capacities of UAIC doctoral school members for international collaboration, research skills, and publishing in international journals;
developing the partnership with representatives of the “International Joint PhD in Social Representations, Culture and Communication” doctoral program implemented by a consortium of European universities;
stimulating international mobility for the purpose of developing scientific research at an institutional level through the participation of doctoral students and young teaching staff in international scientific conferences and workshops;
consolidating existing collaboration relations and developing and diversifying international relations activities through participation in Coimbra Group activities.

The following activities were carried out within the project:

Online organization of the 5th edition of the JASSY International Summer School (July 4-15, 2022). The 2022 edition was attended by 78 participants from 15 countries (China, Switzerland, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Spain, United States of America, Turkey, and Ukraine). They attended courses within 6 interdisciplinary modules and obtained 6 ECTS credits. The JASSY International Summer School will continue in 2023 in the same format;
Organizing Romanian language courses for incoming students who arrived at UAIC in the first semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. 62% of international students enrolled in these courses. These beginner-level Romanian language courses for international students are organized at UAIC every semester, with FDI financial support being essential.
Preparing and delivering lectures on Romanian culture for international students (October 17-21, 2022). Four courses were organized, representing a continuation of an activity from the FDI 2021 project, which resulted in the Romanian culture volume intended for the university’s international guests and students.
Creating an information kit to promote the university at international fairs and promotion visits aimed at attracting international students. The activity consisted of purchasing informative brochures and leaflets presenting the university, in English, to be offered during visits and promotion fairs to candidates interested in studying at UAIC.
Equipping UAIC dormitories where international students, teaching staff, and researchers are accommodated, in order to improve their stay in Iași. 8 rooms in the Gaudeamus dormitory, which hosts foreign lecturers and guest professors, were equipped with air conditioning units. In the C5 dormitory, which hosts the majority of incoming students, two spaces for socializing and dining were set up, 131 rooms were modernized, and the reading room and 5 kitchenettes were upgraded.
Stimulating international mobility for the development of scientific research at an institutional level through participation with articles/posters/presentations in international scientific congresses, conferences, workshops, and colloquia for doctoral students and young teaching staff not included in research project teams. Through project CNFIS-FDI-2022-0606, 13 participations (2 online and 11 in person) were funded for 8 doctoral students and 5 young teaching staff (up to 35 years old) from the following faculties: Geography and Geology, FEAA, Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences, Letters, Mathematics, and Psychology and Education Sciences.
Consolidating collaboration relations and diversifying international relations activities through participation in Coimbra Group activities. UAIC representatives participated in the CG High-Level Seminar on Education Policy (Uppsala, November 7-11, 2022). UAIC’s active involvement in Coimbra Group activities contributes to developing new partnerships for academic cooperation projects.
The objective regarding the development of UAIC academic community members’ capacities to design and implement European research projects was achieved through a workshop (November 3-4, 2022) titled “Horizon Europe Research and Development Projects Seminars.” This included tutorials on designing Horizon Europe projects delivered by three foreign researchers with extensive experience: Sofia Strid (Gothenburg & Örebro University, Sweden), Fabio Feudo (K&I, Rome, Italy), and Ricardo Garcia Mira (Coruna University, Spain).
The objective of organizing an international scientific seminar to develop doctoral school members’ capacities to conduct empirical research and disseminate results in international journals was met through an event (November 22-24, 2022) featuring tutorials by lecturers from foreign universities: Christian KLÖCKNER (NTNU, Norway), Giovanni CAIATI (K&I, Rome, Italy), and Nachatter SINGH (University of Coruna, Spain).
The objective of organizing working meetings between UAIC representatives and coordinators of the International Joint PhD in Social Representations, Culture and Communication was fulfilled on December 5, 2022. The event was held online to facilitate the participation of representatives from the four consortium universities (Sapienza University of Rome, Pecs University, and Aix-Marseille University).

PROJECT CNFIS-FDI-2021-0546 – INTERNATIONALIZATION BY INCREASING THE VISIBILITY OF THE EDUCATIONAL OFFER AND SUPPORTING ACADEMIC MOBILITY (VIZIBIL)

Field: Internationalization of higher education in Romania

Approved budget: 320,000 lei

Project Director: Prof. Daniela COJOCARU, PhD

Implementation period: 10.05.2021 – 17.12.2021

The project objectives, defined in accordance with the strategic institutional development plan of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, were:

developing and promoting the educational offer in order to increase the number of international students enrolled at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași in all study cycles, either for full degree studies or for study, research, or traineeship mobilities;
increasing visibility and promoting “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași and Romanian higher education to support the achievement of the EHEA (European Higher Education Area) and the implementation of the Bologna process;
increasing the degree of “internationalization at home” across the entire university campus, by promoting international mobility and by facilitating interaction between the local academic community and international guests;
stimulating international mobility for the purpose of developing scientific research at an institutional level through participation with articles/posters/presentations in international scientific congresses, conferences, workshops, and colloquia for doctoral students and young teaching staff not included in research project teams funded through other programs;
improving services for international students, academic staff, and researchers;
consolidating existing collaboration relations and developing and diversifying international relations activities through participation in Coimbra Group activities.

The following activities were carried out within the project:

Online organization of the 4th edition of the JASSY International Summer School (July 5-16, 2021). The 2021 edition was attended by 86 participants from 18 countries (Algeria, Austria, Bangladesh, Denmark, Russian Federation, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam). They attended courses within 6 interdisciplinary modules and obtained 6 ECTS credits. The JASSY International Summer School will continue in 2022 in the same format;
Granting mini-grants to UAIC teaching staff for curriculum internationalization. Individual employment contracts were concluded for the accreditation of Master’s programs taught in English at the Faculty of Chemistry and the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, for the preparation of a Romanian culture module at the Faculty of Letters, and for the preparation of a course taught in English for incoming students at the Faculty of History. Starting with the 2022-2023 academic year (subject to ARACIS accreditation), international students will be able to attend these Master’s programs either for full degree studies or as Erasmus mobilities. The Romanian culture module and the English-taught course will be available to international students;
Preparation of a volume on Romanian culture related to the Romanian culture module prepared for international students. This volume will be offered to foreign lecturers and international guests of the university. This activity corresponds to project objectives 1, 2, and 3;
Organization of Romanian language courses for international students who arrived at UAIC in the first semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. 33.60% of international students attended these Romanian language courses. UAIC organizes Romanian language courses for international students every semester;
Organization of English language courses for university staff. In September and October, UAIC employees who interact directly with international students and guests (dorms and canteens) benefited from beginner-level courses to enable minimal communication with international guests. Out of the 55 people enrolled, 23 actually participated in these courses. This activity will be continued to ensure effective communication between university services and international students;
Purchase of equipment (mini-tripod, LED ring light, microphones, image stabilizer) for creating new promotional video materials (video testimonials with former incoming or outgoing Erasmus+ students, guided tours for international guests) and services for creating a university presentation video in English. These were necessary particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the promotion of higher education institutions (at educational fairs, conferences, workshops, etc.) takes place primarily online;
Equipping UAIC dormitories where international students, teaching staff, and researchers are accommodated, to improve their stay in Iași. 8 rooms in the Gaudeamus dormitory, which hosts foreign lecturers and guest professors, were equipped with air conditioning units. In the C5 dormitory, which hosts the majority of incoming students, two spaces for socializing and dining were set up, 131 rooms were modernized, and the reading room and 5 kitchenettes were upgraded;
Participation with articles/posters/presentations in international scientific events for doctoral students and young teaching staff not included in research project teams. 15 participations (9 online and 6 in person) were funded for 14 doctoral students and one young teacher (up to 35 years old). Participants represent the following faculties: Chemistry, Law, Physical Education and Sports, Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences, Physics, and Letters;
Active participation and involvement of UAIC in Coimbra Group activities. Two UAIC representatives participated in activities organized within the Coimbra Group (CG), specifically the CG High-Level Research Policy Seminar (Geneva, October 21-22, 2021). UAIC’s active involvement in Coimbra Group activities contributes to developing new partnerships for academic cooperation projects.

In order to achieve the objectives of increasing the number of international students at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași (UAIC), increasing the visibility and promotion of UAIC, and consolidating existing cooperation relations and developing new partnerships, the following activities were carried out within the VINCIT 4 project:

UAIC’s participation in online educational fairs: Study in Europe (organized by the European Union on 26.09.2020 in Singapore), International Mobility Fair (organized by the University of Barcelona on December 1, 2020), and the activity organized by Izmir University of Economics aimed at attracting Erasmus+ students (December 2020). During these activities, UAIC presented its academic offer, a promotional video of the university, and a series of informative materials addressed to international students. UAIC’s participation in these online fairs represented an adaptation to the situation following the cancellation of the EAIE educational fair in October 2020 (physical format).
Online organization of the 3rd edition of the JASSY International Summer School (July 6-17, 2020). 56 participants from 12 countries (Argentina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, China, South Korea, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Netherlands, Republic of Moldova, and Romania) enrolled in this year’s edition, participating in 4 interdisciplinary modules and obtaining 6 ECTS credits.
Translation into English of course descriptions available on the UAIC website and on the studyinromania.ro platform, in order to facilitate access to information for international students. 7 faculties provided English translations of course descriptions for international students (Chemistry, Physical Education and Sports, Physics, Geography and Geology, History, Mathematics, and Psychology and Education Sciences).
The organization of a visit to Kazakhstan was replaced by a series of online courses delivered between December 7-10, 2020, by a professor from UAIC, Faculty of Letters. Students from L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University attended these courses. The goal was to attract students for full-degree studies in Iași, promote the JASSY Summer School, and showcase UAIC’s study offer taught in English.

Due to the situation generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, new activities were included in the project to contribute to the achievement of the aforementioned objectives:

Preparing and distributing informative and promotional kits for Romanian language lectureships and for partner universities abroad where the Romanian language is studied, in order to support the Romanian language teaching process and attract students through academic mobility programs and full-degree studies. The proposed activity was achieved through the purchase of specialized manuals and brochures for distribution to external partners.
Organizing and participating in online and offline campaigns to promote academic mobility programs (Erasmus+, SEE, and others) and study programs in languages of international circulation among partner universities. This activity aimed at preparing materials and organizing promotion meetings/campaigns by the International Relations Office with the support of representatives from UAIC faculties.
Partial equipping of the Erasmus Cafe on the UAIC campus. This activity consisted of purchasing equipment for the Erasmus Cafe on the UAIC campus, as a space intended for promoting academic exchange programs for UAIC students and facilitating their interaction with international students studying in Iași.

The objective aiming at developing scientific research at an institutional level through the participation of doctoral and master’s students from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași in international congresses, conferences, and scientific colloquia was achieved. 11 online participations in international congresses and conferences were funded for 9 doctoral students and 1 master’s student from 4 faculties. To achieve the objective of developing and diversifying international relations activities, the following online participations in activities organized within the Coimbra Group (CG) took place at UAIC:

8 CG representatives at the Annual Conference organized by Charles University (Prague, June 10-12, 2020);
16 participations in permanent CG Working Groups;
1 participation in the CG High-Level Webinar on Education Policy (December 3-4, 2020).

UAIC’s active participation and involvement in activities organized within the CG contribute decisively to fulfilling the objectives of consolidating existing cooperation relations/developing new partnerships with partner universities for academic cooperation projects. The COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to carry out certain staff travel expenses proposed in the project budget, although all initially established objectives were met. The savings were redirected towards a new objective, Improving services offered to international students and guests, through the following activities:

Development of an information kit to be distributed to incoming students and international guests, as well as students participating in outgoing mobilities. This activity involved purchasing promotional materials, informative materials for learning the Romanian language, and materials for promoting UAIC and the city of Iași.

Organization of Romanian language courses for international students who arrived at UAIC in the first semester of the 2020-2021 academic year.

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