Call for faculty at CHARM-EU universities to offer international online courses

CHARM-EU is a Challenge-Driven, Accessible, Research-based and Mobile European University Alliance, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme between the University of Barcelona (coordinator), Trinity College Dublin, Utrecht University, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, the University of Montpellier,  Åbo Akademi University, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences and the University of Bergen. At CHARM-EU we work together to design and create a new university model, employing innovative pedagogical approaches and mechanisms to engage staff and students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, and fostering connections with extra-academic stakeholders from business and society to collaboratively address the challenges of the 21st century.

As part of our efforts to provide transnational learning experiences to the widest range of students, CHARM-EU member universities will provide access to a certain set of their online courses for the students at the partner universities to facilitate virtual exchange activities. Participating students will get first-hand transnational experience without taking part in physical mobility. The credits of the online courses might be recognised in line with the standard procedures of the home university of the student.

This is the second call for faculty to offer courses for transnational online learning after completing a successful pilot call with 16 courses and 150 student registrations. CHARM-EU wishes to build on this success and offer a widening range of courses to students at our 9 partner institution, while supporting our faculty in expanding the impact of their teaching.

If you are ready for an international university challenge and interested in becoming a member of an international faculty, please submit your course until the 30th of April.

Submitted courses should follow these criteria:

• accredited as a core or as an elective course in a BA/BSc, MA/MSc or PhD programme at your university (students gain credits from the course) or
• additional / optional courses where students get certificate for the participation (including the number of hours spent with the course), for which students might gain credits  or
• part of short programmes for post-graduate students;
• delivered in English, French, German or Spanish;
• course materials are available online in an LMS (Moodle, Teams, Canvas, etc.);
• either fully online (all students are online) or hybrid (regular students are offline, virtual exchange students are online at the same time);
• delivered either synchronously or asynchronously;
• interactive (seminars are preferred to lectures, where students have an opportunity to interact with the course materials, the instructor, and the other students in the class, for example during international group projects, Moodle forums or breakout rooms);
• preferably designed and delivered in a way that it capitalises and/or reflects on the international and intercultural diversity of the participating students;
• in any study field (courses applying the CHARM educational principles get priority);
• certain study fields might get priority such as Sustainability and Climate Change; Transversal skills; Technology and STEM; Entrepreneurship, innovation, and business; European values, culture, and language 

What are the benefits of your participation?

• You can reach a diverse and broader group of students,
• You can expand the impact of your teaching activities in different CHARM-EU partner institutions,
• You can enhance cross-cultural exchanges for your students,
• You can enhance your academic reputation within an established European University Alliance.

Submit your course by filling in this form: Transnational online learning in CHARM-EU. Please specify the course type, the course schedule, aims, requirements and the LMS platform.

Deadline for submission of your course: 30th of April 2024.

Decision on the courses offered and publication of the course catalogue will be made early May also considering a certain level of balance between the partner universities. Courses will be run in line with the academic calendar and the standard administrative procedures of the host university.

Academics running CHARM-EU transnational online courses will be provided with consultation opportunities and training sessions on the CHARM-EU framework, with a special focus on the pedagogical principles and educational approaches.