ERASMUS+ FRIENDS Project

 
This initiative, named the Furthering International Relations Capacities and Intercultural Engagement to Nurture Campus Diversity and to Support Internationalization at Home (FRIENDS) project, is part of the European Union’s ERASMUS+ Key Action2: Capacity Building in Higher Education. Erasmus+ is the European Commission’s Programme which focuses on education, training, youth and sport, providing opportunities for mobility of learners and staff and cooperation across the education, training and youth sectors.
 
The consortium combines the expertise of 4 Eastern European Programme County Higher Education Institutions in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Turkey, as well 12 Partner Country Higher Education Institutions’ from Asia, namely 2 in Malaysia, 2 in Bhutan, 2 in Cambodia, 3 in the Philippines and 3 in Thailand.

ERASMUS+ FRIENDS kick-off Project Meeting @ Kuala Lumpur

The project’s chief goal is to develop students’ global competence through the integration of intercultural dimensions into universities’ formal and informal curriculum. The project is built around the concept of internationalization at home (IaH) that shifts focus of attention from outbound to virtual mobility and on-campus intercultural engagement for the benefits of non-mobile students’ employability and global outlook.
 
At APU/APIIT, the FRIENDS Project is led by Prof Dr Andy Seddon (Senior Director: Partnerships and Standards) but will combine expertise from academic and student services staff with consultation with students and industry partners to develop amongst other things:
 
An Intercultural Passport which will result in a virtual module designed and embedded into the elective curriculum of APU/APIIT programmes to build students intercultural knowledge and sensitivity to cultural diversity.
The Intercultural Passport will be an innovative tool that combines virtual mobility and methodologies to validate prior experiential learning evidenced through digital storytelling.
Initially 180 students will be awarded an Intercultural Passport during the FRIENDS’ first phase.
As part of the pioneering group a competition will be held to find the best 2 or 3 students to represent APU/APIIT at an international retreat in Bulgaria for 8 weeks which will be paid for by ERASMUS+ project.
 
A FRIENDS Teahouse which will be established at APU/APIIT.
The teahouse will function as a student-friendly multicultural hub that welcome diversity, and support the welfare of students with diverse cultural backgrounds.
It will provide integrated international student care and services managed by a team of dedicated student ambassadors.
 
The project kick-started in March 2019 and will consist of a series of webinars and visits to share visions and good practice to help to achieve the European Commission’s goal.
 
Stay tuned for updates as the project gets underway! For any enquiries on this project, please e-mail: erasmus@apu.edu.my.