International Exchange at the St. Pölten UAS

The International Week from 21 to 25 November 2022 was an occasion for students and staff members of the St. Pölten UAS as well as from partner institutions to get in touch and engage in exchange with international experts across disciplinary boundaries.

The Future University & European Alliance

In addition to sharing information on studying abroad, the topic “The Future University” was another key focus of the International Week as the participants had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the activities of the European University alliance E³UDRES². The St. Pölten UAS leads a network of nine partner universities all over Europe that has committed itself to promoting innovation in rural regions. Discussion panels on “The Future University” allowed for exchange between students, staff members, and international experts on wishes, expectations, and obstacles when it comes to the development of the university of the future. The event was rounded off by a “Mini iLiving Lab” which gave the audience an insight into what interdisciplinary teaching and learning might look like at a Future University and how it is already implemented within the framework of the E³UDRES² alliance.

Interdisciplinary Focus

The International Week offered a diverse programme for the visiting lecturers and administrative staff members from partner universities and for all other international experts who were welcomed to the St. Pölten UAS. Students, lecturers, and staff of the UAS enjoyed many opportunities to communicate with experts from all over the world and learn new things from them within the framework of teaching and presentations. “Internationalisation@home is a very important strategic pillar of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences’ internationalisation efforts, so we are happy with the strong interest in our International Week”, says Daniela Lohner, head of the service unit International Relations at the St. Pölten UAS.

A special focus of the International Week is on collaboration across disciplinary borders. “The experts’ contributions from all topic areas of the St. Pölten UAS resulted in a diverse programme, which emphasises our university’s focus on cross-disciplinary thinking”, explains Alois Frotschnig, Chairperson of the UAS Board.

In addition to the departments’ open lectures, there were guided tours of the city, a field trip to the neighbouring university hospital, and various workshops, for example on how to create podcasts.

Go International! Day

The Go International! Day on 24 November was the perfect opportunity for students to establish first contacts with partner universities and get to know their representatives. Students and staff were offered information on mobility options in dedicated presentations. In the study year 2021/22, the St. Pölten UAS had more than 500 incoming and outgoing mobilities – a new record! The goal is to give as many students as possible the opportunity to gain international and interdisciplinary experiences during their study period.

To this end, the International Café was set up as a venue for students to have a chat with incoming students, former outgoing students and interns, buddies of the Erasmus Student Network, and International Relations staff over coffee and cake.

The Go International! Day also included the award ceremony for five travel grants of the Society for the Promotion of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences worth EUR 1,000 each to students spending a semester at a non-European partner university in the study year 2022/23.