Justus Liebig University Giessen

Justus Liebig University Giessen is a comprehensive research university with a strong focus on the life sciences and the humanities; it has currently about 24.000 students, of which 2.000 are international BA-, MA- or PhD-students. Internationalisation is a key factor in JLU’s development strategy. With more than 160 EU partner universities and about 40 overseas co-operations, it has a long tradition of organising and implementing mobility schemes and provides extensive experience in the management of cross-cultural academic exchange projects for students and academic staff alike, e.g. ERASMUS, Tempus, ERASMUS Mundus. Two of JLU’s organisations will be involved in the implementation of the Intra-ACP mobility scheme in particular: The International Office and the Center for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), one of JLU’s interdisciplinary research centres. The International Office offers its expertise in internationalisation strategies, establishing and managing international higher education co-operations as well as the efficient handling of international scholarship and mobility programmes.

The ZEU provides an EU-African platform through the already existing APEDIA-Network (Academic Partnership for Environment and Development Innovations in Africa), that links four of the partner universities of the consortium of this proposal. The APEDIA-Network is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and will help establishing long-term academic relations between the universities involved.

Role of the organisation in the project

Through their strong ties with African partners, the ZEU and the APEDIA-network will support the project with experience and advice in setting up a mobility scheme that guarantees mutually beneficial academic exchange for its participants and long-term benefits that meet the needs of the participating HEIs. It will support the applicant (PoN) with the proposal and the identification of suitable partners to ensure a geographical and subject-related diversity that is most beneficial for the programme.

The International Office of JLU will assist with its experience in setting up international co-operations and handling scholarship and mobility programmes and will give personal advice and training for those involved in the joint activities. For example, it will support the applicant (PoN) by including members of the PoN-team in its annual staff training week in June 2011, which will focus on the EU-African programmes and the coaching of the partners involved. The staff training will convey methods of quality assurance and introduce best-practice models for the implementation of mobility programmes, thus contributing to a sustainable transfer of skills and expertise.