International strategy

Drapeaux

HELMo's international strategy

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International commitment

En 2019, HELMo a entamé un travail sur la définition d’un plan stratégique pour les 5 années à venir. Les grandes orientations ci-dessous vont permettre de définir les axes de la stratégie Erasmus et internationale pour les prochaines années.

The Haute École places strong emphasis on the quality of its programs and teaching. These ensure high-level training and enable students to pursue their professional, academic, and civic paths with solid foundations.

Given the context of higher education in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, our University College is required to collaborate with other networks (at the community level), other cultures (at the national or international level), other training partners from different branches of higher education, as well as with associations, services, and industry.
⇒ This constantly challenges our values and practices, highlighting the importance of developing and strengthening strategic partnerships.

In a society undergoing constant change (or even transformation), it is essential to strengthen our ability to adapt and continue evolving by distinguishing ourselves from other stakeholders in higher education and training.

In this evolving society, the missions of University Colleges are changing, and their activities are diversifying; in this context, HELMo is increasingly developing projects in continuing education, research, and services to the community.

To successfully implement our educational projects within a high‑quality living and learning environment

The Core missions

To foster this development, HELMo assigns itself several missions:

  • Increase the accessibility of the University College
  • Encourage innovative teaching practices and update its initial training offer
  • Ensure that its continuing education offer is adequate and attractive for individuals in personal and/or professional contexts, aligned with our fields of activity
  • Promote the development of high‑quality applied research across all domains of activity
  • Expand its services to the community

Erasmus Charter

By applying to participate in the Erasmus+ 2021–2027 programme, HELMo is continuing the internationalisation process it initiated during previous programme periods within Key Actions KA103 and KA201, while contributing to the development of missions defined in its institutional strategic plan by pursuing the following objectives:

  • Stimulating innovative teaching practices and updating the initial training offer

Notably by valuing international projects as an integral part of initial training (international learning experiences, etc.):

  • Creating international projects linked to initial training
  • Enabling all students who wish to do so to undertake an experience abroad
  • Awarding academic credit for students’ international experiences
  • Creating opportunities for study periods and/or internships abroad

Through participation in the Erasmus 2021–2027 programme, HELMo commits to:

  • Strengthening the institutional dynamic of international collaboration and improving its visibility
  • Building partnerships aligned with the HE’s strategy and pedagogical quality criteria, by:
    • Reinforcing and expanding transnational partnerships
    • Strengthening its presence in associative networks in which it participates (Businet, Comenius Association, FESET, NIBS, ESWA, …)
    • Increasing and facilitating exchanges
    • Working toward joint or double degrees
    • Developing research and/or continuing education projects
    • Improving teaching practices and governance
  • Continuing to increase student mobility “OUT” and “IN” and staff mobility to facilitate peer‑to‑peer exchanges of good practices through reciprocal teaching and/or training missions
  • Supporting students with specific needs through both HELMo’s inclusion services and those of partner institutions
  • Recognising as learning outcomes all competences of international relevance, including:

Language competences, by continuing to encourage language learning:

  • Through the use of the Wallangues or OLS platforms for outgoing students
  • Through continuing education modules in English to encourage staff mobilities and the development of English‑taught course modules (internationalisation @home)
  • Through French as a Foreign Language (FLE) modules for incoming exchange students, offered during welcome days and throughout the academic year

Intercultural competences, by:

  • Integrating more intercultural elements into course content
  • Encouraging the active participation of incoming students in classroom exchanges
  • Inviting Erasmus Alumni to share their international experiences
  • Encouraging the development of distance‑learning practices and tools (e‑learning)

Promoting high‑quality applied research across all activity domains

  • Strengthening the anchoring of research in professional settings, especially in innovative sectors responding to societal challenges
  • Creating partnerships, including with academic institutions

Through participation in Erasmus 2021–2027, HELMo commits to:

  • Developing staff mobility (teaching and administrative) for continuing education and project development
  • Stimulating the development of international research and continuing education programmes in all categories of the University College

Expanding services to the community

  • Consolidating the South‑North cooperation unit, which will interact directly with beneficiaries and initial training
  • Through Erasmus 2021–2027, HELMo commits to:
    • Encouraging outgoing and incoming mobilities with partners from Global South countries
    • Organising awareness‑raising actions and activities
    • Participating in intercultural training for students, staff, and external participants
    • Encouraging incoming students to participate in awareness and cultural‑discovery projects
    • Promoting civic and citizen engagement

Activities Planned to Achieve These Objectives

1. Student Mobility (Outgoing and Incoming)

  • Academic mobilities of one semester or a full academic year
  • Mobilities within double‑degree or even triple‑degree programmes
  • Long‑term internship mobilities (Europe and beyond)
  • Short-term mobilities combined with virtual components (blended mobility)

2. Staff Mobility

For:

3. Development of Internationalisation @home

Through:

  • Welcoming incoming students with the HELMo ESN unit
  • Organising Welcome Days
  • Hosting incoming teachers during international weeks or seminars for local and incoming students, in person or online (e‑learning)
  • Developing double‑degree / dual‑degree projects, integrating cultural and linguistic diversity of incoming students into course content (see Descriptor 43 of the Internationalisation of Higher Education in Fédération Wallonie‑Bruxelles)
  • Developing English‑taught course modules
  • Welcoming foreign researchers to share research findings through seminars or teaching sessions (in person or online)
  • Integrating resources acquired by teachers during foreign missions into course content
  • Valuing students’ international experiences both in class and on campus

4. International Research

HELMo has a Research and Continuing Education Department supported by departmental “Research & Continuing Education” coordinators.
This experienced research structure has contributed—and will continue to contribute—to HELMo’s positioning within international research consortia.

HELMo has been:

  • Promoter of two strategic partnership projects (15PS0009 and 18PS0003) in the paramedical department
  • Partner in another strategic partnership project (2019‑1‑BG01‑KA201‑062521 – 16/09/2019) in the educational sciences department
  • Partner in two Interreg projects:
    • EMR57 – Rolling Solar (Technical Department – 09/2018–08/2021)
    • NWE983 – IT4Anxiety (Social Department – 09/2019–09/2023)

5. Development of Virtual Projects

  • International weeks
  • Seminars
  • Workshops
  • Distance‑learning courses
  • Exchanges of research results