Ca' Foscari becomes more international, thanks to Erasmus+ ICM

Thanks to the Erasmus+ ICM 2015-2017 project (enjoying a highly successful first year in operation), there has been a notable increase in mobility to and from non-European countries. By 2017, 187 students and 68 professors and administrative employees will arrive at Ca' Foscari or depart from Venice in order to study or work abroad. USA , Brazil, Russia are some of the most popular destinations, however, there is a large list to choose from with over 25 partner universities all over the world.

Erasmus+ ICM (2015-2017) represents a new branch of the original Erasmus+ program (2014-2020) which finances incoming and outgoing mobility grants within non-EU countries. Last year, during its first experience with the initiative, Ca’ Foscari had the highest number of country-approved funding for mobility out of all Italian Universities, receiving over 1.3 million Euros.

60% of Inter-Institutional Agreements governing bilateral exchanges were signed before the end of 2015. The Universities of Hanoi (Vietnam), Tbilisi (Georgia), Federal de Espirito Santo Vitoria (Brazil), Astrakhan (Russian Federation), Meknes and Fez (Morocco) have succeeded in launching calls for proposals and finalizing their selections in time to send to Venice most of its beneficiaries already by February 2016.
This highlights an interest in mobility towards the EU and also represents a positive result for Ca' Foscari in terms of reaching student capacity and for the institutional support provided to partners: the Ca' Foscari Mobility Unit has been working hard to make sure International universities are able to adapt as quickly as possible to the rules, procedures and documents that are in line with the guidelines provided by the European Union and the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE). Despite the distance, significant organizational and cultural differences, and the fact that international universities are less prepared to handle high influxes of mobility compared to those in Europe, the response of international partners has been excellent.

See the testimonials from incoming students and professors and a few of the exchange coordinators in the videos below.