Activities and Projects 2013/2014

1. Activities and Projects 2013/2014

2. SGROUP EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES' NETWORK A Gateway to Europe 

3. SGROUP EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES' NETWORK • The SGroup European Universities’ Network (SGroup) is a non-for-profit organisation founded in 1989 composed of over 30 higher education institutions from 15 European countries. • The SGroup is a dynamic platform for modern, internationally orientated universities with the aim of expanding collaboration opportunities in education and research through the transfer of knowledge and development of strategic alliances. • Its mission is based on four core areas ofco-operation – internationalisation strategy, academic collaboration, academic mobility, and transfer of knowledge. SGroup members The SGroup is a network with over 25 years of experiencein university collaboration within Europe and beyond

6. SELECTED PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES Regional Collaboration & Mobility - Berkley Exchange Programme – USA - Alfa Puentes – Latin America - ICon– Intercontinental Academic Mobility Programme - STEP Programme – Placements for students Transfer of Knowledge - Summer schools for Doctoral Students - Specialisedworkshops and seminars - United Nations Academic Impact Project Strategic Alliances - Collaboration with university associations and HEIs with Latin America (AUGM, FAUBAI, ASCUN) - Erasmus Mundus iDEAProject Strengthening Research Capacities - Networking for EU funded projects - Assistance with internationalisation of Science and Technology - Specialisedcourses and workshops Document Title Here same font size 14

7. SELECTED SGROUP-CO-ORIDNATED MOBILITY PROJECTS • The ICon Programmeis an international mobility initiative between higher education institutions belonging to the SGroup European Universities’ Network (SGroup) and their partner institutionsoverseas (fromEastern Partnership, Latin America, and Chinato SGroup members and reverse) • The Programme aims at the exchange of knowledge and experience between regions through academic mobility at all levels: • Undergraduate students • Graduate students • Doctoralcandidates • SGroup role: Global Coordinator for Eastern Partnership, Latin America and China lots • Postdocs • Academic Staff • Administrative Staff The ICon Programme intends to facilitate mobility betweenthe participating regions and institutions to enhance academic and research collaborationwww.iconmobility.eu

8. SELECTED SGROUP-CO-ORIDNATED MOBILITY PROJECTS • Benefits for ICon Programme for SGroup members: • Privilegedaccess to a wide range of reliable and recognised institutions; • Structuredinformation about diverse study offers available in Europe and LA; • Alltypes of academic mobility available; • Visibilityand promotion of partner institutions in both regions; • Recognitionof study and quality assurance mechanisms. • Possibilityof networking for new funding programmes; • Facilitationof bilateral collaboration between individual universities as well as the associations of universities from both regions. The ICon Programme intends to facilitate mobility betweenthe participating regions and institutions to enhance academic and research collaborationwww.iconmobility.eu

9. CURRENT INTERNATIONAL EU-FUNDED PROJECTS Alfa PUENTES - Building Capacity of University Associations in fostering Latin American Regional Integration • The ALFA PUENTES project is an international cooperation initiative aimed to boost regional development of higher education in Latin America, managed and implemented by university associations in both LA and Europe. The project is designed to improve mechanisms for modernisation, reform and harmonisation of education systems in Latin America andto enhance EU-LA university partnership. • The ALFA PUENTES supports three sub-regional initiatives (Mercosur, Andean Community, and the Mesoamerican Region) that focus on processes related to teaching and learning, mobility and internationalization, quality assurance (QA) and university governance. SGroup role: Partner institution Alfa Puentes is an international cooperation project between Europe and Latin America, aimed at improving and modernisingthe higher education system in Latin America and at harmonisingcurricula between the two continents.

10. CURRENT INTERNATIONAL EU-FUNDED PROJECTS EGRACONS - European GRAdingCONversionSystem TheEuropean GRAdingCONversion System - EGRACONS proposes a practical approach to compare the grade conversion systems across Europe and to increase the understanding of the grading cultures by the academic and non-academic stakeholders. • The project aims at designing and developing an IT tool for the conversion of grades to allow universities to ensure a fair transfer and recognition of grades of mobility students according to the ECTS Users’ Guide published by the European Commission in 2009. • The project consortium representing almost 80 higher education institutions from 34 countries, and other interested parties are seekingto arrive at a common European approach to ECTS grading tables implementation. SGroup role: Joint-Coordinator with the Gent University www.egracons.eu EGRACONS aims at developing a user-friendly web-based tool for grade conversion that will be made available to all European HEIs on a voluntary basis enabling transparent interpretation of students’ accomplishments.

11. CURRENT INTERNATIONAL EU-FUNDED PROJECTS IMOTION - Integration and Promotion of Staff Training Courses at Universities The main aim of the project is the creation of an online platform that will collect and display staff training opportunitiesat European level. This platform will help: • HEI organising staff training to promote their events; • HEI organising job shadowing to look for appropriate staff ; • HEI staff to find the appropriate training or job shadowing opportunities; • HEI to get feedback from the participants at staff training events SGroup role: Partner institution www.staffmobility.eu The platform will help academic and administrative staff of Higher Education Institutions in Europe find and evaluate staff training events in an integrated and systematic way.

12. SELECTED INTERNAL SGROUP PROJECTS 2013/2014 • SGroup facilities cooperation among its member universities by offering funding to bottom-up initaitves proposed by member universities for the Seed Money Programme. 4-5 projects are sponsored on annual basis each with up to 5000 Euros each on an annual basis.

13. HOW TO COLLABORATE WITH SGROUP? • Full membership – universities from across Europe which have signed the SGroup Charter. Entry to this class of membership will be reserved to universities offering PhD or equivalent degree courses and endorsement by the General Assembly. • Associate membership – universities from non-European countries. Entry to this class of membership will be by invitation of the Executive Committee and endorsement by the General Assembly. SGroup enables its members: • to network for EU-funded projects in education and research; • to exchange good practices; • to share experiences; • to participate in specialisedwork groups, seminar and training courses; • to accessfirst-hand information about educational and research policies in Europe • to promote expertise and to increase visibility of its members • to identify opportunities for academic collaboration More information about SGroup and the membership conditions you can find www.sgroup.be

14. BENEFITS FROM MEMBERSHIP

15. BENEFITS FROM MEMBERSHIP

16. BENEFITS FOR MEMBERS

17. SG COMMUNITY We invite all academic community of SG member universities e.g. teachers, researchers, PhD candidates, and administrative staff to register at our platform made available atwww.sgroup.be • The SG Community enables: • to obtain information about our projects and collaboration opportunities • to join specific work groups or a database of experts • to interact with partners universities • to share expertise with SG members whenever appropriate • To register please follow this link: http://sgroup.be/user/register

18. CONTACT SGroupEuropeanUniversities’ Network Rue de Stassart 119 Brussels, Belgium www.sgroup.be sgroup@sgroup.be