I am in Craiova (Romania), giving a seminar on ageing and social responsibility: “What does it mean to be old in the 21st century?” to undergraduates in Social Work, Sociology, Law and Politics.

It has been very interesting. During the seminar, I have seen the interest in raising the life expectancy figures, which are low here in comparison with other European countries.

I have found the University of Craiova to be very welcoming and full of hope about working open to the world. I am trying to get contacts for our UFV students in Education and Cafyd.

I have met two former Romanian students who studied at UFV last year. Generally, Craiova students come to our University to study Humanities. I have seen that the humanities have a major presence here in the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The concern in Romania for them to grow as a country has been very striking for me. They don’t want people to leave. About 90% of the country follow and practise the Orthodox religion. Curiously, the church is autonomous: it has its own patriarch. I think this is the only Orthodox country which is not dependent on either the Russian or Greek patriarchs: this bonds them and reaffirms them as a country.

Overall, this Erasmus+ exchange is proving very interesting.

• 1.What have you done during these days of your stay (give classes, receive training, learn good practices, and tell us a bit about them)?
  Interchange of good practices: Vice-Rectorate for Finance and Administration, Vice-Rectorate for Integrated Training, Institutional Communication, Faculty of Communication, Faculty of Economics and Business, School of Architecture, School of Arts.
• 2.What relationships and networking have you engaged in? It can be either with new people or those you had already met.
  There was one I knew (we were undergraduates together) but the majority were faces I recognised. I noticed they were keen on collaborating and sharing experiences, very generous, it was very interesting to them to receive somebody from a university of the group and a Spanish university, a European one: they wanted to learn about our university management and they were aware of how UFV has grown over recent years. They shared topics and documentation about:
  • Regulations for graduates.
  • University Protocol Manual.
  • Operational emergencies manual.
  • Institutional image manual.
  • Call centre operation manual (for incoming calls).
  • Preparation courses for radio, TV, cinema, etc.
  • Regulations and procedures for using communication laboratories.
  • University furniture control.
  • Management and control of university assets.
  • General services: security, cleaning, etc.
  • Student and user satisfaction.
• 3.What do you most value in this experience, both personally (if you wish) and professionally?

At a personal level, the treatment has been excellent, and they have sought to make me feel as though I were at my own university.

At a professional level, I have enjoyed sharing experiences and good practices: on the one hand to discover other ways of working and managing, and on the other, to see that we are doing things properly here at UFV, bit by bit.

Sharing experiences and handling the knowledge is very enriching professionally and personally. Thank you for supporting me to experience this exchange.

• 1.What have you done during these days of your stay (give classes, receive training, learn good practices, and tell us a bit about them)?  EThese exchange days have been highly productive, as not only have I been able to give classes to students at the host university, but also to attend conferences to discover other teaching practices at European universities and swap impressions with people teaching in other countries.
• 2.What relationships and networking have you engaged in? It can be either with new people or those you had already met.  Firstly, to mention that I have met a colleague from UFV whom I had only ever known “from the corridor”, and I have discovered the possibility of doing things together at UFV. In addition, being in an international environment, it has been of great help for making contacts with people teaching at other universities and for initiating possible future exchanges of students.
• 3.What do you most value in this experience, both personally and professionally?  It has been an incredible experience that I would definitely want to do again. Not just because of the chance to improve the language, learn about other cultures and other ways of giving classes, but also because of the personal challenge to myself. Professionally, it is a major improvement in learning, experience and development, in addition to relations and contact with other professionals.

Erasmus in Germany – Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (2015).

“Erasmus at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany has been an incredible experience. The subject of my seminar was ageing as seen by the German philosopher and saint Edith Stein. When I showed the students the study of elderly Spanish ladies I had conducted, I was very impressed with the participation and interest they showed. I have understood that German students ask the same questions as ours do, seeking the truth in order to make sense of life.”

“I recommend to all my colleagues and students that they take the opportunity of going to other places to share knowledge.”

Cristina Ruiz-Alberdi, professor of Humanities.

“I have even done it twice, as it is an absolutely recommendable and enriching experience in various ways, like personally, culturally, socially and professionally. It opens your mind and you discover other very interesting ways of working.”

Fernando Prieto, professor of English at the UFV Language Centre.

“Over the final days of April 2015, I had the privilege of giving classes at the same University where St. John Paul II had taught as professor of Ethics (long before he became Bishop of Krakow or Pope) at the Catholic University of Lublin KUL).

Finding UFV Law students in the classes was an unexpected and inspiring surprise, I can bear witness to the transforming power of the training we have given them at our University and their leadership, how they stand out from the other students, including the Polish ones.

It has been one of the most enriching experiences, not just for me as a professor, but also at personal level, because of the historical and cultural wealth of the city. I firmly believe that Poland has much to tell Europe and the world about its identity, which is definitely a Western identity.”

Mª Amalia Faná del Valle Villar, professor of Humanities.

Erasmus in the United Kingdom, at the European Documentation Centre, Cardiff University (Wales). There are about 350 European Documentation Centres at Universities in the European Union. They all offer the same services and we work on common communication strategies, coordinated with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communication.

Participating in an Erasmus exchange means sharing good working practice with colleagues from other Centres or improving your training. In my case, I attended a course on the database European Sources Online https://www.europeansources.info/. The experience at another university was highly valuable, and above all to see first-hand the great prestige librarians enjoy in the United Kingdom. They organise social activities in parallel with the academic year and the working atmosphere was extremely professional and pleasant. After returning, I continue participating in their project as Collaborating Editor, which has also strengthened the links between both Centres and Universities.

Eva Ramón, Director of the European Documentation Centre.

A very interesting experience from the professional and cultural point of view I learned a lot from the Polish students and it was curious to see how they work, which is different from what I am used to in Spain. People received me warmly, and I was part of their team for a week. The only thing is… don’t go in winter! It was VERY cold, and I’m British!!

Head of the Degree Programme in Nursing of JAMK University, Finland, talks about the opportunities the Erasmus+ Programme offers to academic staff to train and teach abroad. Watch video.