The Study Visit to the University of Alicante took place between the 10th and the 14th of June of 2024. This event targeted IRO staff and combined both theoretical and participative activities that allowed the attendants to better understand and acquire some of the tools and actions needed to advance internationalisation.
The Study Visit for IRO staff focused on:

• Providing internationalisation practices and managerial skills at an institutional level - through the International Relations Office - and at a faculty level.
• Transferring good practices to improve international collaboration for research.
• Facilitating peer learning and creating leadership at the IRO level.
• Highlighting the importance of communication for encouraging outbound mobility and attracting incoming mobility.
• Discussing the current situation on internationalisation in Cambodia in order to identify gaps and needs to be addressed in the workshops in WP4.
• Establishing a basis for the development of IRO services.

These results were attained by developing a well-thought-out schedule that featured several activities and actions within the University of Alicante. The programme covered: 

1. IRO Management of mobility programmes - student & academic and non-academic staff mobility. 

Different relevant actors working on internationalisation in the University of Alicante participated in the event: the Vice Rector of International Relations and Cooperation, the Vice Rector of International Relations and Institutional Projects, the Director of the Secretariat Mobility and the Deputy Director of Mobility Projects. They provided an overview of the structure for internationalisation established within the university, but also gave the participants the opportunity to ask their questions to these key people who had been working in internationalisation for over 20 years. 

2. Faculty Strategies for Internationalisation 

The Vice Dean of Faculty of Education External Internship and Mobility highlighted a journey to promote internationalisation which evidenced the relevance of promoting internationalisation at a faculty level. 

3. Credit recognition and transfer

The University of Alicante shared with the participants some of the methods used to ensure credit recognition and transfer in mobility programmes. Which included:

• The completion of a learning agreement before mobility with the continuous mentoring of an assigned tutor from the home institution’s faculty.
• Importance of updating the curricula of courses to ensure that the learning agreement is done adequately.
• The establishment of formal agreements between institutions, detailing the terms and conditions for credit transfer.
• Well-documented policies on credit transfer accessible to students, administrative and academic staff.

The speakers also remarked that while credit recognition and transfer is very important for mobility, there is always a need to be flexible in this sense as it is almost impossible to find programmes at different universities that completely match their curricula.

4. International Research Collaboration 

The Deputy Director of the International Doctoral School of UA talked about the experience and key actions of the Doctoral School to promote internationalisation in research. Some of the good practices highlighted by the participants included:

• Promoting joint research projects with international partners. 
• Securing funding and resources for collaborative research initiatives. 
• Co-supervision (supervisors of the thesis of different institutions) as an effective approach to encourage international research collaboration.
• Development of a detailed project plan with timelines, milestones and deliverables.

Some of the benefits of these good practices according to the participants are: the enhancement of the academic quality and reputation of the university, the ability to broaden research horizons and resources, the cultural exchange and building of international (professional) networks and the preparation of students for a globalised world.

5. Knowledge Diplomacy

A specific discussion panel on Knowledge Diplomacy (KD) was organised by the University of Alicante to discuss how HEIs can contribute to face current global issues (e.g. climate change, food security, epidemics, peace and security, human rights and social justice, etc.). Knowledge Diplomacy refers to the role of IHERI in building/strengthening relations between and among countries, and it involves both (1) the role of IHERI in managing and strengthening international relations and (2) the role of international relations in enhancing IHE, research and innovation. Some of the learning outcomes of this discussion highlighted by the participants were:

• Erasmus + projects and international partnerships contribute to KD.
• Knowledge Diplomacy can directly contribute to the promotion of global transformation, being developed both at an internal and external level.
• The role of the HEIs goes beyond teaching/learning, they are important for research and knowledge production, but also for providing a service to society.

In short, this experience served the participants, the IRO staff, to acknowledge the changes needed to pave the way for their HEIs to advance internationalisation, and to acquire the needed skills to implement and to manage the internationalisation efforts. It facilitated peer learning and knowledge transfer.