Hello Sarah,
Hello Gauthier, thank you for accepting our invitation.
Could you begin by introducing yourself
and your department or unit at the University of Lille?
Yes, my name is Sarah Durieux.
I work at the student mobility office, which is part
of the international relations department.
And so you took part in a mobility programme,
which European University did you visit?
I went to Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom.
It was a little more than two years ago,
in May 2019.
How did you come to choose that University?
And how did you apply to join
that scheme through the University of Lille?
I visited a website called Imotion,
which lists all of the available staff weeks in Europe.
And so I did some research,
because I work in international relations,
I looked for everything available with an international dimension.
I found several options and that's the one I chose
because it was about hosting international students.
And that was really central to my work at the time.
I've since changed job slightly, although I still work on
international mobility. So that's it.
So I looked for information on the University website
where the staff week was on offer and had to submit an application online.
There was a form to fill in with a section
including a cover letter etc, so I did that
on the partner's side and at the same time
I followed the procedure
with an application form through the University of Lille.
Okay, so ultimately you went through your department to ...
Yes, that's right.
Great.
And could you tell us a bit about
how the Erasmus plus training week unfolded
and how you benefited from it?
So the way it worked was, at the beginning
we were actually quite often in the University's lecture halls.
Sheffield Hallam University
ran presentations for us about their whole approach,
all the programmes they have in place to host international students,
and the way they work.
That was the first two days, but there were also roundtable discussions
where we all exchanged best practices,
asked questions, how they approach things and what others were doing.
So it really involved sharing with others,
other staff from foreign universities who were also present.
And we also had the chance to visit various departments
they had told us about in the first part of the week.
And the last day was a bit more relaxed, let's say.
We were able to visit a castle known as Chatsworth House.
Which is not very far from Sheffield.
It's a very beautiful building
where movies and series have been filmed.
We had a really
nice time, it was a sociable event
at the end of the staff week.
How did I benefit?
Loads of ideas because
it was a time when we were already reflecting
a lot within my department about how to improve things.
And we still are, of course,
because there are always things to improve.
But it gave me loads of ideas, things to try to put in place
and throughout the University generally
to host international students
whether visiting on an exchange programme or on an individual basis.
This is still
a very, very important issue in our department.
So you brought back some good ideas from the United Kingdom?
It was also a chance
to meet my counterparts at other universities.
There were Dutch, Hungarian and Danish staff members there,
so some good contacts worth keeping.
For work purposes I mean.
And tell us, did you receive funding for this Erasmus
plus mobility trip?
Yes, yes, of course.
So, I can't remember the exact figure,
it was a while ago.
But yes, there was funding available
for those mobility trips, covering travel costs and expenses in situ.
For Erasmus Staff, for all Erasmus mobility schemes,
there are three groups of countries depending on the destination.
There's a specific amount and I was even able
to get an advance payment on the subsidy
so I wouldn't have to pay too much money upfront.
And the staff week I took part in
also involved a fee.
And that was covered by the staff training department.
I had to make an advance payment online
which the department couldn't do for me,
but I was very quickly
reimbursed after providing all the various receipts needed for the application.
So if tomorrow I wanted to do
that kind of mobility trip, who would I get in touch with?
First of all, you need to talk to your
superior to ask for approval.
And if you get the green light, there's a lot of information under the International
section of the website, where you will be redirected to the academic mobility office.
OK, great.
And so?
Ready to head off to England again?
Ah yes, well Brexit has changed things slightly,
but there might be a chance this year. England
or even other European countries that belong to the programme
and run staff weeks
which are always interesting with regard to a whole range of subjects.
There really are lots, not just for me
working in international relations, but
for all departments, there are definitely interesting staff weeks
in other European countries.
So a very positive experience?
Very, very positive! An experience that I would recommend to everyone and one I would be delighted to repeat.
Well, thank you very much for sharing.
And all the best with your work going forward.
There's plenty yet to be done. Thank you for having me.