C6) Itärintamalta ei mitään uutta?
Ajankohtaista korkeakoulujen Venäjä-yhteistyössä
Korkeakoulujen kansainvälisten asioiden kevätpäivät Vaasa, 10.5.2017
The New FIRST+
programme for Finnish Russian HE cooperation
Spring Forum for International Affairs in Higher Education Vaasa, 10.5.2017
Outi Jäppinen, EDUFI
FIRST+
Finnish Russian Student and Teacher Programme
• A tool to promote networking and partnership between HEIs in Finland and Russia
• Continuation to the FIRST programme (2001-2017)
• Provides support for student and teacher mobility as well as intensive courses
• Both long term and short term student mobility at BA, MA and PhD levels
FIRST+: Biggest changes in the programme
• Wider geographical coverage of the programme: the whole Russia
• New instrument for student mobility: short term mobilities
• Only from Finland to Russia
• Open also for all disciplines (including students studying Russian language/culture as main subject)
• Administratorial change: the participating Russian HEIs are recommended to submit a FIRST+ statement to specify their participation in the programme
FIRST+
Application Round 2017
• Application round will open in May 2017
• Application deadline in September 2017
• Funding: ca. 750.000 € + additional funding in 2018 Spring/Autumn
• Agreement period: 1.1.2018-31.8.2019
• Interim report and additional funding in Spring 2018/Autumn 2018
Who can participate?
• Network programme
• All Finnish Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences are eligible to participate and act as applicants
• Higher Education institutions in Russia may participate as partners (FIRST+
statement)
• Individual students and teachers can participate by applying an exchange place through their own institution (if their HEI participates in the programme)
FIRST+ 6
How FIRST+ network works?
FINNISH HEI (Applicant
and
Coordinator)
Russian HEI (partner)
Finnish HEI (partner)
Russian HEI (partner) Russian
HEI (partner)
Possible activities
• Long term Student Mobility (FI-RU, RU-FI)
• Short term Student Mobility (FI-RU)
• Teacher mobility (FI-RU, RU-FI)
• Intensive Courses (in Russia)
Mobility Activities - Basic principles
• The grant amount is the maximum FIRST+ grant that can be paid to one beneficiary / day/month. However, the networks can decide on the
individual grant level.
• Two categories of grants, based on distance CATEGORY 1: North-Western Russia
CATEGORY 2: all the other parts of Russia
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Activities: Student mobility Basic principles
• No tuition fees
• Recognition of Studies as part of a student’s degree
• Citizenship: possible to participate irrespective of nationality, however, no exchanges to own country. From FI to RU: students with Russian
background/nationality -> must have completed comprehensive school/general upper secondary education in Finland
• Student Mobility: Practical training and Joint degree programmes possible
• Fields of Study: students majoring in Russian language are not allowed to choose their major subject for their studies in a Russian host institution
Activities: Long-term Student Mobility Outgoing and Incoming
• Mobility at BA, MA and PhD levels possible
• Duration: 2-12 months (max support for 9 months)
• Monthly grants (preliminary), two CATEGORIES (depending on distance)
• CATEGORY 1: EUR 560 /month
• CATEGORY 2: EUR 650 / month
FIRST+ 10
Activities: Short-term Student Mobility ONLY Outgoing (from FI to RU)
• Mobility at BA, MA and PhD levels possible
• Eg. short intensive study courses, summer courses, practical training NB! Short term mobility for individual students (does not refer to common intensive study courses and group mobility)
• The daily grants, two CATEGORIES (preliminary) (depending on distance)
CATEGORY 1:
• up to the 14th day of activity: EUR 50 per day
• between the 15st and 59th day of activity: EUR 20 per day CATEGORY 2:
• up to the 14th day of activity: EUR 70 per day
Activities: Teacher Mobility Outgoing and Incoming
• Teacher mobility both from Finland to Russia and from Russia to Finland
• Teaching must be an integral part of the hosting institution’s curriculum
• Teaching may be given at any degree level (BA, MA, PhD)
• Minimum duration of an exchange: 5 hours of teaching
• The maximum grants (preliminary) for teacher exchange per day (two CATEGORIES)
• CATEGORY 1: EUR 100 /day
• CATEGORY 2: EUR 120 /day
FIRST+ 12
Activities: Intensive Courses
• Short study periods, jointly organized by at least one Finnish and one Russian HEI
• FIRST+ intensive course must take place in Russia
• Minimum duration: 1 week (5 working days + travel days)
• Participants: equally both from Finland and Russia
• Studies must be recognized as part of student’s degree
• Funding covers organisational expenses, eg. participants’ travel and subsistence costs (NB! Support cannot be used on salaries /fees)
• Three categories for funding: a) travel costs, b) accommodation and subsistence costs and c) organisational costs
• Level of Funding for one Intensive cours: ca. EUR 10.000
Activities: Intensive Courses Assessment criteria
• Course theme and contents; added value to individual participants and higher education institutions;
• Recognition of studies completed on the course;
• Careful planning and implementation of the course;
• Evaluation of the intensive course and dissemination of results and experiences;
• In case of previous experiences: changes, development, justification for future funding.
FIRST+ 14
Quality assessment criteria
• Relevance
• Quality of the cooperation and activity design and implementation
• Impact
Application procedure
• Only electronic application (no hard copies!)
• Application package: electronic form + separate excel sheet for mobility flows
• Application documents will be uploaded at EDUFI’s webpages
• Applications must be submitted by the coordinating institution on behalf of the whole network
• Russian partner HEIs are expected to submit a separate FIRST+ Statement (one statement/ institution)
• DEADLINE: September 2017
FIRST+ 16
FIRST+ Statement from the Russian Partners
• A commitment to the network’s activities by the Russian partners
• to specify each FIRST+ network in which the Russian HEI participates
• to demonstrate the commitment and quality of the Russian HEI to the network activities
• A template available at EDUFI web page
• Only one FIRST+ statement / higher education institution
• The statement must be appropriately signed by a representative of the partner higher education establishment
• The signed and scanned statement will be submitted electronically (no hard copies!)
Muita ajankohtaisia asioita
Russian-Finnish contact seminar for higher education
• 14.-15.6.2017, Moscow
Study in Finland / Team Finland events in Russia in 2017
• Study in Finland in St. Petersburg (end of Sep)
• Team Finland trip to Kazan (November)
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