Eutopia's Certificate of Internationalisation

The EUTOPIA Certificate of Internationalisation (EUCI) gives students a space in which they can discuss and reflect upon international experiences with fellow students from across the alliance. Students have the option to compile a reflective portfolio – which can include creative and multimedia elements – along with a ‘cover letter’ summarising how they have fulfilled the EUCI learning outcomes in order to obtain the certificate.

IATL has been instrumental in the development of Eutopia’s Certificate of Internationalisation (EUCI) with Dr Lorenzo Serini and Dr Giulia Champion, two of IATL’s Early Career Teaching Fellows, being founding tutors on the programme in 2020/21. In 2021/22, Dr Serini, Dr Champion and Dr Theo Aiolfi (one of IATL's Early Career Teaching Fellows in 2021/22) were tutors on the programme and contributed to the development of the teaching and learning materials.To be eligible for EUCI, students must participate in at least three international activities with ICUR being one of these activities.

EUTOPIA and IATL's Global Connections Module

IATL's Director of Studies, Dr Heather Meyer, is currently the Education Lead for the Eutopia Global Connections Learning CommunityLink opens in a new window and responsible for organising an ongoing programme that hosts a ‘Collaborative Online International Learning’Link opens in a new window (COIL) event once per term.

The Learning Community Global Connections offers a transdisciplinary approach to learning through an innovative and research-led discussion format that encourages students to share insights as co-collaborators. The group offers a range of activities that deal with topics such as migration, the environment, etc. which can be approached from different perspectives and pose transdisciplinary challenges. Seminars, workshops, and practical activities guide the learning experience, and are facilitated by specialists from a range of subject areas who are engaged in globally oriented projects. Students are encouraged to integrate their own disciplinary knowledge, personal experiences, and reflections as they examine the complexities of global connections.

In November 2022, Dr Meyer led the most recent EUTOPIA ‘Global ConnectionsLink opens in a new window’ transdisciplinary cross-university event. Students from universities around Europe worked together in multidisciplinary teams online on the theme of ‘Migration’ to produce mini ‘Student-Devised Projects’ – inspired by IATL’s innovation in the area of assessment. These creative, transdisciplinary projects were presented to an international panel, and participating students received a EUTOPIA certificate for their excellent work.

ICUR

IATL has been working with the Eutopia institutions to ensure they have a presence at ICUR and this relationship will be further developed during the next phase of the ICUR project. ICUR is an existing initiative developed by the University of Warwick and Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). Monash University were selected as a Global Partner for EUTOPIA, in part to adopt the good practice from the ten-year Monash Warwick Alliance and apply it to the EUTOPIA context. EUTOPIA partners were invited to join ICUR, and all participated in at least two iterations of the conference. A target participation number of 60 was set before the project, and was exceeded:  

2020: 145 students from the six EUTOPIA partners (37 excluding Warwick), plus 163 students from Global Partners Monash University and Stellenbosch University (total student participation across all the partner institutions =403). In addition to the presenters, another 450 staff and students from EUTOPIA partners attended as virtual audience members (95 excluding Warwick).  

2021: 161 students from the six EUTOPIA partners (50 excluding Warwick), plus 247 students from Global Partners Monash University and Stellenbosch University (total student participation across all the partner institutions = 561). In addition to the presenters, another 308 staff and students from EUTOPIA partners attended as virtual audience members (47 excluding Warwick). 

2022: 168 students from the six EUTOPIA partners (32 excluding Warwick), plus 86 students from Global Partners Monash University and Stellenbosch University (total student participation across all the partner institutions = 438). In addition to the presenters, another 210 staff and students from EUTOPIA partners attended as virtual and in-person audience members (27 excluding Warwick).