The UOC is working with European universities to promote online mobility programmes

Created early last year, the task force was set up to promote Europe-wide online mobility programmes, exchange programmes in which students can study courses from another university online without having to move country. Along with the UOC, universities such as the KU Leuven (Belgium), the Arctic University of Norway, the Pierre and Marie Curie University (France) and the UNED (Spain) are also taking part.

"Being part of this group enables us to strengthen ties with European universities and raise the profile of our educational model", stated Pastora Martínez Samper, Vice President for Globalization and Cooperation. Since the beginning of this year, the UOC has been working with the other universities to define a conceptual framework for online mobility programmes. Together they have drawn up a series of recommendations at institutional, Spanish and European level to get online mobility on the political agenda and have it recognized by the European university system.

More global classrooms

The UOC showed its support for online mobility programmes in 2016, when 700 Colombian students from Uniminuto accessed our classrooms. "Online mobility allows students to improve their global skills, which give us a greater understanding of the world around us and of the challenges we face as a society", explained Gemma Xarles, director of Globalization and Cooperation. "It also enables us to engage in effective and respectful communication with people from different places and sociocultural situations".  

However, this is not the UOC's first time having international students from other universities in its classrooms, as it had already welcomed students from the Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga and the Universidad de Antioquia in Colombia. To date, the University has hosted 2,000 students from various Latin American higher education institutions on its campus. Students from Chile's University of Talca and DUOC UC and Peru's Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia have also shared online classrooms with UOC students.

Online mobility programmes are also valuable in that they help reduce inequalities: university students from anywhere in the world can improve their CV and benefit from an international experience, irrespective of their socio-economic situation.