A Spring of Movement

A Spring of MovementUBS encourages international mobility amongst its staff. Since UBS joined the European EMERGE alliance, opportunities for international mobility have increased and are open to all university staff.

The UBS International Office has been offering mobility opportunities to staff through the Erasmus+ programme over the last ten years.

This Erasmus+ initiative enables staff to undertake a training placement at a European higher education institution or within a company as part of professional development activities.

This year, five people were able to benefit from a European experience at one of the alliance’s 9 universities.

Next year, six mobility opportunities will once again be open to UBS administrative staff.

This year, Corinne, in charge of the Erasmus Mundus Cyberus programme and based at the International Office, Angéline, Director of SPOT, Gwenaël, Head of the Partnerships and Innovation Department (Research and Commercialisation Office) and coordinator of the STREAMS project – which holds the ‘Science With and For Society’ label – Virginie (SPOT and BRIO) and Nolwenn from the Communications Department took part in this programme.

An international staff week dedicated to welcoming international students and the concept of engagement

During their stay at the University of Limerick in Ireland from 18 to 22 May, Corinne, Angéline and Gwenaël took part in a staff week offering three themed sessions on the topic of internationalisation. Forty people from a wide range of nationalities came together.

Corinne took part in the Student Affairs workshop on Tuesday (although I had initially been aiming for the ‘Internationalisation at Home’ workshop) and on Thursday, everyone came together to discuss the three workshops, which helped to broaden our overall perspective.

“By addressing inclusive internationalisation, student engagement and, above all, support for international students, this mobility experience has made me realise the importance of planning for their arrival in advance and prioritising the well-being of international students, which is essential to their academic success.” It also gave her ideas on how to improve the support and integration of international students within the CYBERUS programme.

Angéline took part in all three of the workshops on offer and was particularly impressed by the measures put in place by the university to ensure a successful welcome for international students. She especially enjoyed meeting people from 18 different countries and the friendly atmosphere.

Gwenaël took part in the conferences, workshops and field visits to key stakeholders organised as part of the ‘Community Engagement’ programme. This theme, and the initiatives and projects carried out within this framework, align with what we are developing on our own under the banner of Science With and For Society (SAPS), with the specific goal of fostering research collaborations with civil society organisations and citizens.

The purpose of Gwenaël’s visit was to meet colleagues working on this theme at the University of Limerick, to discuss our respective projects and practices, and to strengthen the collaboration initiated in 2025 as part of the ‘Research’ work package of the EMERGE Alliance.

Job shadowing for inspiration at the University of Flensburg

Virginie spent three days in Germany to exchange ideas with her counterparts in the careers guidance department and to meet secondary school pupils whilst representing BRIO.

She returned armed with best practices to replicate or trial with her colleagues at SPOT Career Office in UBS.

As for Nolwenn, she spent three days with Yvonne, the Communication Officer for the EMERGE Alliance project. With a mix of best practice and informal discussions, the visit proved to be an inspiration for the project’s communications in general (website, social media, hub, artefacts, tree, etc.).

“A rewarding visit, not only for sharing our communication practices regarding the promotion of EMERGE, but also for forging strong personal bonds. I’m delighted to have discovered the charming town of Flensburg and I can’t wait to go back!”

Photo credits: © Université Bretagne Sud. Communications Office