Guiding Lights in Internationalisation

«Beyond Borders and Boundaries»

But let’s start in the city where it all began over two decades ago, in Brussels. The European Commission invited members of the Erasmus Mundus community to attend a 2-day, partly hybrid conference in the city at the end of May 2024. Under the motto «Beyond Borders and Boundaries», alumni from all over the world alongside representatives of academia and politics – mostly from Europe – discussed the programme’s achievements, successes and future development. 450 people attended the conference in person, with over 500 joining online.

The conference also served as a platform to introduce a study that examines the impact of Erasmus Mundus on participating universities and students and proposes ideas for future developments. Coordinated by the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and other partners, the Erasmus Mundus Support Initiative (EMSI) is responsible for the 140-page report, which was published in English under the title Beyond Borders and Boundaries.

The key insight: Erasmus Mundus makes a difference!

The figures compiled by the editors already paint an impressive picture of the programme’s global reach. By 2023, 585 study programmes had been approved, and 600 universities in 140 countries were or are still involved in these programmes (91 multi-year Master’s courses were approved between 2021 and 2023 alone, in other words, in the first 3 years of the current programme cycle). In the same period, 34,000 students from 179 countries were awarded scholarships, and 111,000 mobilities were facilitated across Europe and beyond.

What do we know about the impact of the 585 collaborative Erasmus Mundus programmes? The study shows that these programmes have had significant impacts on universities and students as well as alumni at national, European and even global level. For instance, by participating in Erasmus Mundus, universities enhance their appeal to (international) students, improve the quality of teaching through exchanges and advance the internationalisation of curricula. Additionally, the programme enables universities to expand and intensify their international collaborations.

The positive effects are often most noticeable at departmental level, especially within smaller higher education institutions, including universities of applied sciences. According to the study, these institutions leverage Erasmus Mundus as a key strategy for achieving academic excellence and advancing internationalisation. Institutions in coordinating roles and those from Erasmus+ Partner countries particularly benefit from the programme.

Best practice examples from Germany

If we look at Germany, we see a keen interest and extremely successful participation in the programme. To date, 255 German universities have participated as coordinators or full partners in an Erasmus Mundus Master’s programme, placing Germany in 3rd position after France (376) and Spain (339), but ahead of Italy (250) and Portugal (170). We have taken a closer look at the experiences of 2 of these German universities.

The first is Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. With over 7,000 students (winter semester 2023/2024) and just over 1,100 employees, it operates across three separate locations (Köthen, Bernburg and Dessau) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The second is the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RTPU), which was formed in early 2023 through the merger of the Landau campus of the University of Koblenz-Landau and the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK). Rhineland-Palatinate’s only technical university serves over 18,600 students (winter semester 2023/2024) and employs around 2,600 members of staff at its 2 locations in Kaiserslautern and Landau.

These two universities are quite distinct, as this initial information shows. Differences can also be observed in their Erasmus Mundus programmes. Yet, they play a crucial role in the internationalisation and networking strategies of both Anhalt University and RPTU and have greatly enhanced the universities’ appeal to international students. They have become an integral part of both universities.

Erasmus Mundus study programmes at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

Anhalt University of Applied Sciences has participated in the Erasmus Mundus programme since 2005, offering its first course in the winter semester of the following year. Since then, in collaboration with partner institutions in Belgium, Ireland and Portugal, it has successfully delivered 2 English-language, interdisciplinary Master’s degrees with various specialisations. A further Master’s programme, also in English and developed in partnership with these universities, will also be offered until 2026. As with the other two programmes, Anhalt University holds full partner status in this programme.

Our first interviewee is Dr Wolfram Schnäckel, one of the longest-serving professors at the university in Saxony-Anhalt, which was founded in October 1991. Dr Schnäckel has worked in Bernburg since 1992, where the agricultural department is based. A professor of food technology for over 30 years, he was appointed senior professor in 2024. For almost two decades – between 2006 and his retirement in autumn 2023 – he played a key role in the Erasmus Mundus Master’s programmes, first as deputy director and from 2011 as principal director. Wolfram Schnäckel has extensive knowledge of and experience with Erasmus Mundus at his university.

Erasmus Mundus creates opportunities

The idea for the first project came about almost 20 years ago during a network meeting with European partners, recalls Schnäckel. «As a university with a preparatory language course at our Köthen campus, we already had a large number of international students enrolled in our German-language programmes. Thanks to our historical connections, we have always maintained strong ties with partners in eastern Europe,» explains Schnäckel, who earned a doctorate at the University of Food and Luxury Food Industry in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) in the 1980s. «However, the new Erasmus Mundus programme provided Anhalt University with the opportunity to expand its reach beyond Europe, to forge connections with excellent universities and help develop an English-language degree programme. We wanted to attract outstanding talent to the university and help secure a skilled workforce. It was an opportunity we were eager to seize.»

Through the collaboration with the Katholieke Hogeschool Sint-Lieven in Ghent, which later became part of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Anhalt University gained access to the consortium, which includes partner institutions in Ireland and Portugal. With the exception of one project from the first Erasmus+ programme generation (2014−2020), which did not involve the Irish partner, these 4 institutions have always worked together.

«What has changed over the years, however, is the focus of the programmes,» says Schnäckel, who has taught two modules from the start of the programme and continues to teach today. «We have always developed the projects together. In the second course, we included elements of economics and business to meet the demands of the labour market and companies in the food industry. The Master’s programme launched in 2020 also covers food safety and environmental protection with a focus on sustainability.»

Administrative challenges and solutions

The coordination processes involved are time-consuming and require intensive communication both within the university – where the Admission Board, led by the respective programme director, oversees content coordination and design – and between partner institutions. «However, continuous close cooperation fosters strong relationships with partners, resulting in a high level of trust in each other’s reliability and quality. As a result, the processes are well-practiced,» says Schnäckel.

However, Erasmus Mundus is fundamentally more complex than other Erasmus+ actions, such as mobilities (Key Action 1) and some cooperations among organisations and institutions (Key Action 2), as confirmed by Wolfram Schnäckel and Anne Beer, head of the university’s International Office (IO). In this context, Beer, who works in Köthen, a town with a strong engineering focus some 20 kilometres from Bernburg, highlights the preparatory phase required for all recognition processes and reapplications for the study programme. 

«Another challenge is the high number of international student mobilities occurring within very short intervals. This places significant demands on the organisational staff,» says the Japanologist, who has led the office for over 10 years. Accommodation has to be found and sometimes visa issues have to be clarified. Programme coordinators and the IO staff face numerous challenges, even if the REST Directive introduced in May 2016 has streamlined processes for third-country nationals to enter and stay in the country for research, study or internships, and the efforts involved have decreased as a result, explains Beer.

«As a Fachhochschule [university of applied science offering a more practical, career-oriented education] and, since 1998, a Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften [university of applied science with a focus on research], we have been fortunate that much of the administrative work required by the EU has been handled by KU Leuven. For a long time, we have been able to benefit from its expertise,» concludes Beer. KU is Belgium’s largest university with over 65,600 students (in the 2022/2023 academic year) and around 23,600 employees. According to the Beyond Borders and Boundaries study, it has already coordinated 15 Master’s programmes, ranking it third. The university is responsible for compiling an overview of grades for all cooperation partners (for module examinations, internships specifically included in the programme and the Master’s thesis) and preparing transcripts of records for each student.

The positive effects

The final question is what the Erasmus Mundus programmes have achieved for students, the university and teaching staff, and whether the expectations associated with them have been met. Wolfram Schnäckel has no doubt about this. «The popularity of the programme – thanks to the associated scholarships and programme funding – means that top talents from around the world have found their way to our university,» he stresses. «Since 2006, nearly 600 students have successfully completed the Master’s programmes, with a dropout rate of less than 1 percent. These figures reflect the effectiveness of our selection procedure and the quality of our teaching concept.» Some international students have chosen to remain in Germany since graduating, a decision facilitated by the German language lessons they were able to take during their studies.

«An additional benefit is that the university has gained experience in setting up English-language programmes. We now offer 12 such programmes, positioning us strongly for internationalisation,» Schnäckel continues. Simultaneously, the consortium and associated partners (such as the University of Malta, the University of Agriculture in Krakow and the University of Zagreb) have been involved in exchanges within the Erasmus programme. Each year, around 15 students from these universities come to Bernburg, Köthen and Dessau to take courses in biotechnology, pharmaceutical technology, molecular biology or heritage conservation. «Overall,» says Schnäckel, «the intra-European network has expanded and become more robust, facilitating mobility opportunities for teaching staff at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences.»

Finally, another indirect benefit of Erasmus Mundus is that is has led to exciting collaborations for Wolfram Schnäckel and his colleagues at the university in scientific projects and industrial ventures – in Ecuador, the Netherlands, Albania – and secured funding for a German-Chinese agricultural and food industry collaboration. «Thanks to our alumni’s successful integration into the German and international food industry, my colleagues and I are only just a phone call away from exciting projects and interesting ideas,» says Schäckel.

Looking ahead

Transitioning to retirement in autumn 2023, Wolfram Schnäckel handed over the programme management to his colleague Professor Dr Tim Reuter. However, he has not given up work completely. «Until a successor is found, I will continue to teach in our Erasmus Mundus programme. It’s fun working with young people from around the world. It broadens your horizons, even in old age, especially if you follow Carl Friedrich Gauss’ motto: ‹We must combine the experience and knowledge of the older generation with the creativity and curiosity of the young.›».

Erasmus Mundus study programmes at TU Kaiserslautern or RPTU

RPTU was formally established in January 2023, but its connection to Erasmus Mundus goes back a long way thanks to the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK). The first course at TUK began in 2005 in the Faculty of Mathematics, where it ran until 2013. 

With Erasmus+, the number of projects and cooperation partners increased significantly, and Erasmus Mundus programmes were also established in new faculties – Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics. Today, RPTU is actively involved in 2 Erasmus Mundus Master’s programmes, one of which it coordinates.

We interviewed Dr Parya Memar, head of International Affairs at RPTU, a position she took on when TUK merged with the Landau campus of the University of Koblenz-Landau. Previously, she headed the central scientific institution of TU Kaiserslautern, the International School for Graduate Studies (ISGS) (2008−2013) and the International Affairs department: ISGS (2014−2022). In these positions, she has supported 4 Erasmus Mundus projects, 2 from the preparation and application phases through to their implementation. Parya Memar has also been the administrative coordinator of the QuanTEEM Master’s programme since 2020.

Internationalisation – a means and an end

«TUK’s, and now RPTU’s, interest in Erasmus Mundus should be viewed within the context of our internationalisation efforts,» says Parya Memar at the start of the interview. «The double degrees and international degrees delivered in collaboration with several partners are central to our internationalisation strategy and are considered globally as a mark of quality for universities. They enhance their appeal for international target groups, particularly students, who can be offered a wider range of programmes. Erasmus Mundus provides precisely these kinds of opportunities,» explains Memar, who is based at the university campus in the south of Kaiserslautern.

In light of this, it is not surprising that the department responsible for international affairs at the former TUK, originally a consortium partner in 2 completed and 2 still ongoing Erasmus Mundus programmes, invited faculties and potential programme coordinators to participate in the calls for proposals. But Iranian-born Memar also stresses that foreign universities contacted them. «In other words, we were proactive, but other institutions sought us out, too.»

As a result, 4 Erasmus Mundus Master’s programmes have been set up since 2005, with several undergoing further development across multiple programme generations. It should also be emphasised that these have been carried out in 4 different departments, involving partner institutions from various European countries. In total, 10 universities from 10 different countries have participated in the programme. 

An outstanding study programme

Asked what the degree programmes have achieved for students, teaching staff and the universities (TUK and RPTU) as institutions, Parya Memar cites specific examples from EMECS and QuanTEEM, the two Master’s programmes currently offered. For instance, EMECS, administered by the Faculties of Electrical and Computer Engineering and coordinated by RPTU, «has attracted a significant number of high-quality applications for the department’s regular programmes. Even applicants on the waiting list were offered places in regular programmes, with some accepting.» Simultaneously, interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary activities have intensified collaboration with partner universities in Norway and the UK. «This is reflected in group visits by administrative staff and reciprocal visits by teaching staff and researchers.»

Thanks to the Department of Physics’ QuanTEEM programme, collaboration with the coordinating French university has expanded into additional areas, such as chemistry and computer science. Like other projects, this Erasmus Mundus programme has increased mobilities among students, doctoral candidates and teaching staff. Other positive side effects include new research collaborations and «sandwich PhDs», where doctoral students are enrolled both at RPTU and at least one other partner university.

According to Memar, an architecture theorist and historian with a doctorate from TUK, participation in an Erasmus Mundus Master’s programme is a mark of excellence. «Being part of such a programme is a prestigious, internationally recognised credential for both the university and the faculty involved. It signifies high standards in teaching and research, enhances the institution’s reputation and significantly boosts its international visibility and appeal,» she explains. Moreover, notes Memar, a university like RPTU can «strengthen its international position and profile through specialised programmes.»

An initiative requiring increased effort

The diverse impacts these projects have on the university and beyond, such as extended collaborations with industry and potential new career opportunities for graduates, are undeniable. But equally undeniable is the administrative effort involved. «Erasmus Mundus is time-consuming and complex,» acknowledges Memar. «It is a demanding, stringently managed programme with a wide range of international stakeholders, requiring continuous coordination with multiple universities and higher-level organisations.» This includes everything from smaller details, like the design and formatting of transcripts, to managing different procedures and practices relating to data protection or examination schedules, which vary due to different academic calendars.

Moreover, explains Memar, the programme has to meet the requirements of all national authorities involved at every stage – from admission and enrolment to module design. These steps are not always required in standard programmes, so are sometimes overlooked when capacities are planned. Additionally, responsibilities may be unclear or have to be managed alongside other tasks. «This is why it’s so crucial to assign clear responsibilities and free up resources for academic and administrative tasks from the outset,» explains Memar. «Close cooperation and adherence to high-quality standards are essential for the successful implementation and recognition of a genuinely collaborative programme.»

Institutional responsibilities

The International Affairs department, headed by Memar, is responsible for programme administration together with a coordinator from the faculty, while strategic responsibility lies with the academic director, who is typically the chairholder and a professor. 

«Areas of responsibility have remained largely unchanged,» says Memar. «Fluctuation only really occurs in the position subordinate to the academic director within the faculty, due to the fact that junior academic staff are often employed on a temporary basis.» However, the allocation of personnel resources has been very dynamic. Initially, resources were quite substantial, but they have decreased over time and are now adequate for the two ongoing programmes. The challenge, she notes, is that these resources «often have to be covered by the university’s own funds, because tuition fees from partner universities are typically allocated to overheads and are rarely available for developing staff capacities.»

Looking ahead

Given the significance and success of Erasmus Mundus in Kaiserslautern, it is unsurprising that Parya Memar would like to see the introduction of additional programmes, particularly in fields such as biology, psychology, mechanical and process engineering, civil engineering, economics and spatial and environmental planning. According to the head of International Affairs, «there is considerable potential in these areas».

And this is only the beginning. The Executive Board of RPTU has suggested establishing a network of excellence with selected European universities. This initiative would be the perfect opportunity to implement Erasmus Mundus as an integral part of the university and thus intensify international collaboration and academic exchange.

Marcus Klein