Page 68 - A Handbook for Academia, Industry and Policymakers: Reinforcing the Innovation-Employability Nexus in the Mediterranean

’International tertiary mobility has major implications for the flow
and exchange of ideas and knowledge’
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Beyond higher education and non-formal education, the European Commission is
working on expanding cooperation with Southern Mediterranean in the school
education field. The eTwinningPlus Action is open to Tunisia and Jordan on a pilot
basis. It provides a safe web-based platform for teachers and schools to engage
68 with partner schools in Europe and in some neighbouring countries, work on REINFORCING THE INNOVATION-EMPLOYABILITY NEXUS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 69
REINFORCING THE INNOVATION-EMPLOYABILITY NEXUS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
projects and communicate with like-minded educational professionals. [5]
Provisions and approaches experience while still completing a degree
programme at their home university. Students
’Through the UfM regional cooperation framework, we have created Considering that most external movement has could also obtain double degrees and study at
Euro-Mediterranean Universities to educate a new generation of young people with a been directed towards universities in the English- two or more different universities.
unique Euro-Mediterranean vision. With over 30 million people enrolled as students speaking world, recent immigration restrictions
in the region, we also need to jointly work towards facilitating cross-border in the UK and the US has provided space for re- Cooperation with the Southern Mediterranean
academic mobility opportunities to generate enough momentum to establishing a thinking and redistributing student mobility62. has been a focus for Erasmus+, underscored by
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shared Euro-Mediterranean mindset and identity among our students’ the fact that 20% of its entire international credit
Conveniently, the increase in English language
– UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel programmes in many countries has opened mobility budget is dedicated to partnerships in
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doors for students to participate in international the region .
mobility that may be closer to home, using English
’International experience is always an added value for companies and is therefore of as a common base, an additional language Countries with the highest
great help when finding work Someone who already has academic or work known by many. The global pandemic has pushed rate of participation in
experience abroad and is proficient in a second language can earn up to 35% more things even further, opening discourse on virtual Erasmus Mundus Joint
Students leaving to study abroad by country of origin
than someone without this kind of experience or who has a basic level of English.’ 64 mobility, where students enrol at an institution
Figure 11 Master’s Degrees (EMJMDs)
— former European Commissioner for Education, Androulla Vassiliou (or even a single course) from their home without programmes were Morocco,
the (sometimes difficult) process of getting an
Outbound internationally mobile tertiary students immigration visa or finding accommodation. This Tunisia and Israel. Top participating
Countries with the highest rate of participation in Erasmus Mundus has the potential of equalising the field such that institutions were Ben-Gurion University
by Country of Origin
Joint Master Degrees (EMJMDs) programmes were Morocco, students who previously may not have been able of the Negev (Israel), Sfax University
2019 UNESCO National Monitoring
Tunisia and Israel. Top participating institutions were Ben-Gurion to afford to study abroad can now participate in (Tunisia) and Université Cadi Ayyad
University of the Negev (Israel), Sfax University (Tunisia) and programmes without incurring extra costs on top (Morocco) 67
Israel
Université Cadi Ayyad (Morocco)[5] of their current living expenses.
Tunisia 5%
8% Jordan The Southern Mediterranean region has been Mobility has advantages for academic, businesses
9% a focus for the European Commission through and policymakers. Below are descriptions of

its European Neighbourhood Policy which is benefits that span these three perspectives.
committed to modernising higher education
Morroco Lebanon systems and increasing support for teaching
17% 6% and learning mobility for students, teachers,
university staff and young people from Southern
Mediterranean countries. Their primary
cooperation tools are:

Palestine • The Erasmus+ programme in the fields of
9% higher education and youth
Libya • The Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions to
3% support the mobility of researchers
• The European Training Foundation to facilitate Academia
the reform of vocational education and
training systems Student mobility programmes can create
Egypt links between universities which strengthen
existing partnerships and potentially expand
12% Erasmus is the best-known student mobility relationships, moving beyond traditional research
Syrian Arab programme in Europe, which provides partnerships which are limited to the individual
Republic scholarships for students to complete a full faculty who initiate and manage them. Instead,
Algeria 21% study programme at the master’s level. In 2014, academic mobility is an institutional project and,
Erasmus+ was launched to extend mobility
10% options to students for shorter term stays, within with the recent trend of offering mobility options
parameters defined by bilateral agreements for university staff, the relationships between
Source: UNESCO National Monitoring 2019 61 between universities. This facilitated and universities are deepened with interactions
diversified mobility options for students, giving across the organisation, that often include
them the opportunity to have an international leadership. A noteworthy example of mobility