Growing international links and making these part of our students’ learning journeys is a key part of Leeds Trinity’s Strategic Plan 2021-26. But as the University develops its new Global Engagement Strategy and embarks on an exciting new stage of internationalisation, it is pertinent to remember that the key element in the desired culture change is the experience and mindset of our community. Embedding global perspectives into the curriculum for our students requires more than updating reading lists and offering international mobility options. Internationally connected academics encourage global awareness and inspire students and colleagues to look for wider perspectives in their subject.

Four members of academic staff recently returned from Erasmus+ funded teaching and training visits at various higher education institutions across Europe. Dr Ed Noon, Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Childhood and Education (ICE) spent two weeks at KU Leuven in Belgium working alongside an internationally respected research team in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Dr Laura De Pretto, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, paid a visit to the University of Urbino Carlo Bo in Italy where she delivered lectures alongside her former Professors. Dr Stefano Ba’, Senior Lecturer in ICE, taught research methods in Sociology to undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University of Hamburg during his week-long stay in Germany. Meanwhile Andy Gilliland, Senior Lecturer in Business, had a training visit to Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where he met with colleagues from different countries to help develop curriculum content and new pedagogy around education for financial literacy in schools.

Colleagues were all enthused by these visits, highlighting the significance of the wider perspective to their own teaching and research practice. However, there are many other aspects which make staff mobility invaluable for the whole institution:

Connect with top universities

In a world where Oxford collaborates with MIT and Harvard with Cambridge, it is challenging for newer institutions to be invited to the table. Looking at these recent staff visits, all host universities belong to the world top 500 according to Times Higher Education, with KU Leuven at 42nd in the 2022 rankings. Creating links through staff visits is a lot less complicated way to ‘get a foot in the door’ and develop links.

Inspire and innovate

Stepping away from day-to-day contexts, observing different practice and sharing notes with people from different backgrounds often provides the necessary backdrop for innovative ideas to start emerging. It was Senior Professional Practice Fellow Katherine Blair’s Erasmus visit to the Danish Media and Journalism School (DMJX) in September 2019 that sparked the idea of creating virtual collaborations in student broadcast works, which today has produced several editions of Global News Relay in collaboration with universities around the world. In Katherine’s footsteps, Leeds Trinity has embarked on delivering virtual global collaboration projects to students of all disciplines, allowing our graduates to stand out with global experience.

Enhance wellbeing

Staff training visits undoubtedly help to motivate some of us, giving a well-needed boost of new surroundings and new ideas. Professional and personal development opportunities do not have to include pages of guidance and best practice documents, endless zoom calls and often awkward break-out discussions. It is equally challenging to engage your brain in learning a new language as Dr Juliette Taylor-Batty, Reader in English and Comparative Literature, will be doing by taking a week-long intensive Spanish course at the University of Valladolid at the end of May, funded by Erasmus+ mobility grants.

This list is by no means exhaustive but helps to highlight the importance of such international opportunities. With the UK’s decision to withdraw from Erasmus and the absence of staff mobility funding in the Turing Scheme, the UK’s domestic mobility programme, I believe that universities need to invest internal resources to continue such rewarding visits – as they make a significant difference.

Maia Sule is the International Placement and Study Abroad Officer at Leeds Trinity University.