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Today, higher education operates in an increasingly international environment. The change is multi-facetted and fast-paced, yet offers real opportunities. 'Mobility' is one of the most well-known of these. Mobility gives students the chance to study or do a work placement in another country. Lecturers can also benefit from Mobility by training or teaching in another European country ‒ at any stage of their career. At our University College, Leonardo da Vinci (HE Vinci), we have a twenty-strong team initiating and supporting international projects. We encourage our students, lecturers, and administrative staff to take advantage of mobility opportunities, and we provide them with support and supervision. What is more, international coordinators from each of our 5 Institutes meet in an International Relations Group (GRI), which meets every month. Its purpose is to discuss promising practices in international action and coordinate projects, such as Erasmus's recent 30th-anniversary celebration. The GRI works for hand in hand with the Quality Assurance and Communication Departments and the Board of Governors. In 2017, more than 300 HE Vinci students and staff participated in the Erasmus+ program at the time of writing. And 200 more are pursuing their studies or are undertaking work placements of different durations outside Europe. The annual EAIE Conference (European Association for International Education) is a critical event in international cooperation in higher education. HE Vinci participates every year to develop new partnerships. The Conference is an opportunity to meet the prominent figures and practitioners in higher education. Belgian State visits to foreign countries, involving King Philippe and Queen Mathilde ‒ Queen Mathilde studied speech therapy at Marie Haps ‒ always have an academic dimension. The President Director of HE Vinci takes part to generate contacts with the business world and forge new partnerships. HE Vinci also participates in foreign inter-university visits organized by ARES, the Federation of French-speaking higher education institutions in Belgium. ARES is a unique umbrella organization that enables universities, university colleges, and colleges of arts to present a united front to international partners. A study visit or a work placement in another country helps to build independence and creativity. It is a unique opportunity to experience a different way to learn and benefit from innovative methods. The skills acquired during such visits: the ability to adapt, resilience, curiosity, and greater productivity are highly sought after by employers. Our international projects and student exchanges are possible thanks to partnerships with institutions worldwide, with NGOs and businesses. These partnerships spring from international colloquiums or seminars or arise out of disciplinary networks. The ENCBW is a founding member of the Comenius Association. Comenius is a network of European teacher training institutions, set to obtain participatory status with the Council of European Council. The association aims to help develop trainee lecturers' intercultural skills by, for example, developing techniques to help them understand other cultures. In our university college, Leonardo da Vinci (HE Vinci), where 68 nationalities mingle together, intercultural openness and alterity are essential. The European Association of Institutions of Higher Education, EURASHE, offers professionally oriented programs. Its members include universities, university technology institutes (IUT), and university colleges. EURASHE also: organizes international projects, conferences and colloquiums, expresses its opinion on policy initiatives, and represents the teacher training profession to political institutions and social partners. The most recent EURASHE annual conference, on the theme of Quality, was hosted by HE Vinci. The European Union has set the goal of 20% of students undertaking exchanges by 2020. HE Vinci has adopted this goal. We encourage our students to go abroad and welcome our partners' students to study with us. We pay close attention to the Quality of the exchanges we offer. An international presence cannot be achieved by decree. Nor can attractiveness be measured by the number of student or teacher exchanges alone. We have taken concrete steps to raise our profile and increase our recognition among both our current and potential partners. These include enhancing our professionalism, our teaching quality, our services, and our research capabilities. The 'internationalization at home' concept refers to a wide range of situations. Generally speaking, it refers to offering activities ‒ in which the 'international' is present ‒ to students and members of staff who do not take part in exchanges, thereby improving their international and intercultural skills. It may also refer to visiting lecturers, international weeks, intensive programs, or course modules taught in a foreign language. View full university