OBJECTIVES AND STRANDS OF ACTION
SUMMARY TABLE

INTERNATIONALIZATION: OBJECTIVES AND STRANDS OF ACTION

CAMPUSHABITAT5U is an alliance that aims to drive and revitalize the economy of the Valencian Community (CV) and make it an international benchmark centre in the sphere of Habitat and Territory.

In the last two decades the economy of the CV has seen constant growth driven primarily by the residential construction sector and ancillary market activities. However, this growth, as in many regions of other developed countries, has been uneven and not fully sustainable in the long term.

An economy as advanced as the CV’s can only compete by means of quality, differentiation, creativity and reputation. But this does not only affect goods produced and services provided; it also has social and cultural repercussions as well as consequences for both urban and rural areas.

Therefore, CAMPUSHABITAT5U, as a unique project specializing in Habitat and Territory, aspires to become a benchmark for the reactivation of the well-being of the CV, while contributing local solutions to regions of other developed countries that have experienced similar unequal and unsustainable growth in the area of Habitat and Territory.

The international development of CAMPUSHABITAT5U is a determining factor in its academic and scientific quality and in its viability in the future. Critical to this endeavour is the development of policies that support internationalization as a part of a comprehensive, inter-university and inter-disciplinary strategy.

The policy objectives for internationalization are as follows:

  • To consolidate CAMPUSHABITAT5U’s position as an international benchmark hub of teaching and research excellence in Habitat and Territory
  • To foster advanced international, inter-university research in the sphere of Habitat and Territory
  • To promote the international transfer of knowledge in Habitat and Territory
  • To strengthen international cooperation in development in the sphere of Habitat and Territory

Internationalization is an objective that crosses all boundaries, playing a significant role in all the areas of action planned by CAMPUSHABITAT5U. It is an objective shared by each of the organizations that together make up the project.

 

Areas 2.1 Improving Teaching and 2.2 Scientific Advancement and Knowledge Transfer encompass a set of actions aimed at fostering the international dimension of CAMPUSHABITAT5U in its teaching, research and knowledge-transfer activities. Furthermore, area 2.8 includes all the actions aimed at fostering and increasing the presence of CAMPUSHABITAT5U in international academic-scientific networks and alliances. In this section, those actions are combined and complemented with other specific activities for the purpose of achieving the dimension of international excellence.

 

CAMPUSHABITAT5U will carry out actions in the following areas:

Teaching

CAMPUSHABITAT5U aspires to be a hub for international teaching excellence in Habitat and Territory. The specific measures planned to accomplish this are:

  • To consolidate CAMPUSHABITAT5U as a benchmark of teaching excellence through offering an internationally attractive range of academic options in Habitat and Territory by:
    • Reinforcing the range of international inter-university master’s degree programmes available through the participation of the five universities that make up CAMPUSHABITAT5U
    • Promoting Erasmus Mundus master’s degree programme and Erasmus Mundus grants
    • Strengthening the range of master’s degrees offered in English, in order to attract students and teaching staff from other countries
    • Establishing an international publicity programme for the educational programme on offer
    • Developing an international student recruitment programme in emerging countries
    • Strengthening and coordinating the services available for international students
    • Designing a Lifelong Learning Habitat Programme of recognized prestige as a point of attraction for short-term international visitors
    • Comparing the educational programmes of CAMPUSHABITAT5U systematically with those of other universities of excellence for the purpose of ensuring and improving its quality, relevance and competitiveness
    • Creating the HABITAT5U International Doctoral School (see the following section on R&D&i)
  • To promote international exchanges and mobility in Habitat and Territory by:
    • Developing a programme to foster the exchange of students from the five universities with other renowned universities.This will require the provision of information, publicity and advice to students about the advantages and possibilities offered by mobility and exchanges during their university education
    • Recruiting international bachelor’s degree and postgraduate students from the most prestigious European institutions in the sphere of Habitat and Territory
    • Strengthening and coordinating the services required to foster the full participation in the life of CAMPUSHABITAT5U

R&D&i

Research is, by definition, a field for international collaboration and exchange.

Therefore, the positioning of CAMPUSHABITAT5U in the EU framework programme for research is fundamental. In order to consolidate the competitiveness of in R&D at an international level the proposed lines of action are as follows:

  • HABITAT5U International Doctoral School (see details in area 2.2 Scientific Advancement and Knowledge Transfer)CAMPUSHABITAT5U is committed to the creation of an International Doctoral School which will include the five universities under the joint research school model and encompassing doctoral programmes in the field of Habitat and Territory. The objectives of the CAMPUSHABITAT5U Doctoral School will include:
    • Promoting, coordinating and managing doctoral programmes of excellence in the sphere of Habitat and Territory through interdisciplinary research fields, facilitating cooperation between R&D&I units and institutes
    • Promoting the range of doctoral programmes with international excellence endorsements
    • Favouring the completion of European-international and jointly supervised theses with European universities, enabling access to international research centres and strengthening participation in international calls for applications for doctoral grants
  • The Habitat and Territory Institute:
    • To stimulate the development of research projects with international participation through the creation of international alliances, CAMPUSHABITAT5U:
      • will conduct an international analysis of universities and research centres in order to identify entities of excellence in the sphere of Habitat and Territory;
      • will develop a unit to monitor and anticipate EU promoted projects;
      • will earmark funds for the creation of international alliances;
      • will coordinate the work done by the European projects offices in the 5 universities to prevent the duplication of tasks and inefficiency;
      • will promote the hiring of researchers with international experience;
      • will establish a coordinated policy of calls for applications for the hiring of researchers on short- or long-term bases;
      • will attract junior researchers of excellence.
    • CAMPUSHABITAT5U will strengthen the capacity for knowledge transfer of the five universities: To do this, the Habitat and Territory R&D Evaluation and Marketing Unit will implement the following measures, among others:
      • Indentifying and evaluating knowledge generated by the five universities
      • Providing advice as to the most suitable strategy for the international protection of intellectual property
      • Conducting international market research to identify market opportunities and product niches in order to determine the most suitable marketing strategies
      • Selling technology developed under international licensing contracts
      • Supporting the creation of spin-offs through the selection of internationally experienced business people qualified to run them
      • Moulding new professional profiles in the management and application of R&D&i on an international level
      • Maintaining technological vigilance: providing, through the Landscape and Territory Observatory, reports on technical advances and economic information on international markets that may be useful in the preparation and planning of R&D projects or in the search for new lines of research

International visibility and scope

The strategies are based around two lines of action:

  • The international publicity and visibility plan
  • The coordinated management of internationalization policies

The Habitat and Territory Institute, through the publicity office, will be responsible for drafting the international publicity and visibility plan, as well as the subsequent development and management of all the international communication actions of the CAMPUSHABITAT5U brand. To this end, the institute will design and create different media for the diffusion and promotion of CAMPUSHABITAT5U activities, including:

  • A website aimed at an international audienceThe website will focus on positioning CAMPUSHABITAT5U internationally through the following content, among others:
    • Teaching:guiding international students that may be interested in postgraduate studies (official master’s degree programmes and doctorates) including the range of programmes offered, their quality certifications, the services available to them as well as financing options and grant options
    • R&D&i: guiding international lecturers and researchers who may be interested in joining CAMPUSHABITAT5U R&D&i units or in participating in organized visits or projects
    • Technology transfer: promoting the range of knowledge and technology at CAMPUSHABITAT5U internationally as well as the infrastructure and scientific-technological services available
  • Organization of international eventsCAMPUSHABITAT5U plans to organize events of an international nature on Habitat and Territory, open to the public and bringing together scientists and intellectuals in a single location to discuss and plan new forms of sustainable, inclusive growth.One such event is the organization of the “International Forum: Housing and Territory”, which will bring together scientists and intellectuals at a single meeting point to discuss and plan new forms of sustainable and inclusive growth. The organization of the forum reinforces CAMPUSHABITAT5U’s commitment to all of its stakeholders, including the citizens of the region, to apply results and advancements to the process of change and to involve scientific research in the sphere of Habitat and Territory. The forum is forecasted to be held at the same time as World Habitat Day and the Valencia International Habitat Fair and will include the representatives of United Nations-HABITAT for the purpose of publicizing our shared mission: promoting the social and environmentally sustainable development of human settlements and achieving adequate housing for everyone.
  • Presence at international fairsCAMPUSHABITAT5U aims to lead new forms of interaction, promoting an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable habitat. To this end, CAMPUSHABITAT5U will promote and publicize science and technology developed in the sphere of Habitat and Territory. One of the measures planned for this purpose is the creation of a “showroom” in international competitions for Habitat and Territory at the Valencia Trade Fair Centre and the Trade Fair Institution of Alicante. The trade fair venues of the Valencian Community are leaders in the organization of events for several sectors linked to habitat, such as tiling, furnishing, household accessories, and so on.Therefore, representatives of CAMPUSHABITAT5U will attend internationally recognized trade fairs on Habitat and Territory to promote campus activities on an international scale.

Attraction and promotion of talent

One of CAMPUSHABITAT5U’s goals is to attract and promote talented junior pre-doctoral researchers and postdoctoral research staff in the sphere of Habitat and Territory.

University and research institutions are currently competing to attract and promote the best talent. Therefore, a coordinated talent recruitment and retention programme must be established through CAMPUSHABITAT5U that appropriately responds to this internationally competitive environment.

The consolidation of CAMPUSHABITAT5U as an internationally recognized benchmark in Habitat and Territory within the world of academia and science will play a key role in the attraction of talent.

Nevertheless, welcoming and visitor attentions services, scientific-technical infrastructure and services and university housing will also be determining factors in drawing in talent to join the campus.

The following measures have been drawn up for the purpose of attracting and promoting talent:

  • For junior pre-doctoral researchers:
    • Participation in calls for applications for international pre-doctoral grants to attract talented junior researchers
    • Participation in calls for applications for pre-doctoral grants to arrange visits to international research institutions for the purpose of developing joint projects
    • Participation in calls for applications for graduate financial aid to assist students in completing their doctoral theses
    • Participation in calls for applications for involvement in international research conferences
  • For postdoctoral research staff:
    • Participation in calls for applications for international postdoctoral grants to attract renowned researchers
    • Participation in calls for applications for postdoctoral grants to arrange visits to international research institutions for the purpose of developing joint projects
    • Participation in calls for applications for the organization of international events
    • Creation of professorships of excellence, which will allow:
      • research lecturers at CAMPUSHABITAT5U to devote their time exclusively to research for periods of one to five years
      • the recruitment of renowned international researchers to devote their time exclusively to research for periods of one to five years
    • Participation in calls for applications for grants to attract renowned international researchers for short-term exchanges
  • CAMPUSHABITAT5U EndowmentThe creation of the “CAMPUSHABITAT5U Endowment” aims to recruit and retain renowned postdoctoral researchers in the sphere of Habitat and Territory in the long term. The yield resulting from the endowment will be used exclusively to attract and provide incentive for world-class scientific talent.

    CAMPUSHABITAT5U currently boasts a significant number of corporate professorships in the Habitat and Territory sector (CEMEX, BP, Telefónica, Associación Española de Fabricantes de Azulejos y Pavimentos Ceramicos, among others). Therefore, the corporate sector, which is increasingly sensitive to the need to attract and retain scientific talent of excellence, will contribute funding to the endowment. The target for 2015 is to hire ten researchers of excellence and reach an endowment of 6 million euros.

  • Virtual international reception and service officeThe goal of the office will be to receive and attend to the needs of students, junior pre-doctoral researchers and renowned postdoctoral researchers to provide services and resolve questions before their arrival, upon their welcome and during their stay at CAMPUSHABITAT5U.

    The following will be provided by means of IT media:

    • the information required for enrolment or contracting and the related documentation
    • the CAMPUSHABITAT5U welcome manual with information on language courses, meeting points and recreational areas for foreign visitors, etc.
    • help with visas, medical insurance and banking processes
    • practical information about cities and their surroundings

Cooperation in development

CAMPUSHABITAT5U has the Offices of Cooperation in Development and Solidarity and the North-South Board, whose mission is to develop and share the principles of solidarity and cooperation among the university community, both at a regional and international level, for the purpose of making the campus a more human university project committed to abolishing inequality and injustice in the world around us.

Furthermore, two specialized services are available which are highly recognized among the university community:

  • The Permanent Observatory on Immigration: a scientific and social space that aims to promote the analysis of and research into the integration of immigrants. In other words, it aims to understand the living and working conditions of immigrants from beyond the borders of the EU in order to improve them, to collect and offer up-to-date information about current migratory processes, organize conferences, seminars, courses, etc.
  • The Psycho-social Observatory on Disaster Situation Resources: a project that seeks to create a space for resources through research, education and the assessment of psycho-social aspects related to the occurrence of disasters and emergencies.CAMPUSHABITAT5U also has:
  • A UNESCO Chair in Development Studies for the purpose of promoting activities of cooperation and exchange with institutions in developing countries and especially intended to foster inter-university cooperation.
  • A UNESCO Chair in Philosophy and Peace for the purpose of promoting the values of peace, equality and recognition of cultural diversity through the construction and diffusion of the culture for peace.
  • An inter-university master’s degree programme in cooperation in development in which the five universities of the SUPV are involved.

For the purpose of strengthening international cooperation in development, CAMPUSHABITAT proposes the following measures:

  • Advancing the creation of inter-university structures in this area, e.g. through the creation of the Inter-university Observatory on Immigration, based on existing specialized master’s degree programmes
  • Fostering increased awareness among the university community of the issues of poverty and inequality in the world and of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the UN
  • Establishing synergies between the entities that make up CAMPUSHABITAT5U for the evaluation of studies on poverty, development and international cooperation and promoting international cooperation in development within the range of educational options offered
  • Training the teaching and research staff in methodologies for international cooperation in development projects for the purpose of encouraging their participation in public calls for proposals associated with the field in research, teaching and knowledge transfer
  • Fostering the participation in calls for proposals by the government of Valencia, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation in Development (AECID) the Carolina Foundation, the European Union and international development aid organizations
  • Promoting the institutional development of universities in the countries of northern Africa

Furthermore, in order to increase the internal and external visibility of international cooperation in development activities, CAMPUSHABITAT5U proposes these measures:

  • Setting up an information system for use by the university community interested in international cooperation in development (publication of calls for proposals, grants and the teaching science and technological activities of CAMPUSHABITAT5U).
  • Fostering relationships with organizations in the international cooperation in development system: multilateral bodies (United Nations and the European Union), centres for development studies, universities, and international aid organizations
  • Promoting the incorporation of CAMPUSHABITAT5U graduates in multilateral organizations in cooperation in development (United Nations, European Union, etc.)

INTERNATIONALIZATION: SUMMARY TABLE