Erasmus Policy Statement By The IT University Of Copenhagen

The vision of the IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) is to create and share knowledge that is profound and leads to ground-breaking information technology and services for the benefit of humanity. This vision requires the university to deliver international leading teaching and research to be exceptionally good at creating value with IT. The ITU is an innovative, globally active university that focuses on carrying out teaching and research of the highest quality for attracting and providing the world with talent, who can make a difference in the world of today and tomorrow.

External engagement has a central role in the overall strategy of the university where it is described as both a means to achieve world class teaching and research and a means to engage a global network into the university’s existing close collaboration with its Danish stakeholders. Engaging in externally funded research projects involving external partners is thus considered one of the main means to achieve the university’s overall objectives. Therefore, a high number of research projects at the university are conducted in collaboration with external partners locally and globally – be it private, public or NGOs – which in turn have a direct or indirect influence on local, regional, and global development. To be able to do so means engaging with a network of global relations in a meaningful and constructive way and include funding from the Erasmus+ Programme as well as other external funding.

A core strategic focus for the ITU is to deliver research which addresses societal challenges and provides solutions that can lead to new insight and ways of using IT for the benefit of humanity. IT is widely regarded as an indispensable driver of change, innovation, and economic growth, and digital technology and the ITU will contribute significantly to solving the global challenges of the future, be it health, climate, or economic challenges. By offering study programmes within this area or engaging external partners in research activities, ITU can help provide society with civically engaged citizens who can contribute to a sustainable future with IT solutions.

Managing the university’s changing network of global relations in a constructive way and ensuring that the ITU’s research and study programmes are attuned to the globalised context of which they are a part are also key success factors in the university’s research, educational programmes, and related strategies. Engaging in the Programme supports this vision to a high degree. The ITU focuses on developing a network which is truly global, i.e. it must not be limited to the parts of the world that have hitherto set the agenda for IT teaching and research.

The ITU focuses on educating not only students but also facilitates the life-long learning of staff to develop key skills for a changing world and university sector. The ITU believes that it is highly relevant and beneficial to engage in the staff teaching and training activities that the Erasmus+ Programme provides alongside the opportunities the ITU offers.

As the Erasmus+ Programme supports the goal of achieving a high level of digitalisation so is digitalisation at the core of all activities at the ITU. We believe that carrying out activities that lead to ground-breaking information technologies or services requires collaboration between people who hold different perspectives on IT. The university’s interdisciplinary approach permeates the research activities as well as in the design of the educational programmes. Digitalisation is also a goal for administrative departments for optimising work processes and being agile in an ever-changing world.

Reaching the goal of internationally leading teaching and research necessitates close collaboration in a multitude of ways with relevant external partners. Thus, participating in the Programme’s project activities is a central part of the ITU’s overall internationalisation strategy. Working with mobility of faculty and students as well as with other and more encompassing types of cross-border cooperation is considered both a natural and a necessary means to achieve many of the

university’s strategic objectives, both within research and education. ITU believes that mobility of talent is important when striving for excellence. Therefore, the ITU plans to continue supporting existing partnerships and developing new cooperation with partners in the EU and non-EU countries, including partnerships which focus on joint teaching and educational activities. The ITU also plans to continue to promote and support student and staff mobility and recognises and communicates the importance of theinternationally related activities for both students and staff.

To further build the ITU’s portfolio of academically relevant, high quality partners, new partners must be carefully selected. The ITU focuses on various criteria, depending on the type and objective of the collaboration. When choosing partners, the main selection criterion is the academic match in the subjectmatter as well as quality. Given the ITU’s interdisciplinary approach to IT education and research, it is ofhigh priority to find partners who either share this interdisciplinary approach or who have specificcomplementary qualities relative to the ITU’s study programmes. Furthermore, the university paysspecial attention to developing a number of strategic partnerships with select universities, with whom theuniversity collaborates closely in a range of research areas as well as education and exchange.

The ITU focuses on developing a truly global network of partners. Thus, the university is continuously developing new and maintaining existing partnerships within the European area and other Western countries, but there is also a focus on developing stronger relations with partners in other areas that at are perceived to be of key importance to the research and teaching conducted at the ITU. The goal is a geographically diverse selection of exchange possibilities for each of our study programmes. The most important target groups for the ITU’s mobility activities are the 1st and 2nd cycle students at the university, as effort is needed to achieve increased mobility for these target groups and ensure academically relevant exchange possibilities for them.

The ITU offers high quality support and counselling for incoming and outgoing exchange students with the objective of ensuring the best possible student experience from beginning to end, academically as well as socially. The university has a central administrative department handling, among others, international mobility and is positioned together.

The impact of engaging in the Erasmus+ Programme and in projects is building new knowledge, to foster dialogue and common values, and being able to disseminate valuable knowledge and learning experiences to other educational institutions as well as societies. Indicators of success are, among others, additional external funding, and an increase in the number of publications the university produces. These areas have a high strategic priority for the university. The ITU has succeeded in making 100 % of research articles and research produced at the university freely available and for the benefit of people, society, businesses etc.

When looking at how the ITU’s participation in the Programme has an impact on individuals outside of the university, it is important to mention our students' employability. Educating students with competences sought after in the local and global labour market is of high priority for the university and it is important that students are agile and obtain both transferable and inter-cultural skills. Cross-border cooperation and mobility of staff and students are initiatives that not only foster quality in teaching and learning but spending a semester or a shorter research stay abroad will also improve the students' employability in an ever-changing world that becomes more and more globalised. Increasing student and staff mobility is thus a high focus for the university during the Programme period.

At ITU, each study programme has a global competence profile unique to that individual study programme. The global competence profile describes which global competences a graduate has obtained as part of their studies at ITU. At ITU, global competences are most often obtained through a mix of exchange programmes and learning activities – onsite, online, or blended – to give the graduates a varied and relevant set of competences. Engaging in the Programme activities is therefore a key
element in supporting and framing the quality of internationalisation activities and competences in the university’s educational programmes.

The ITU aims at offering free high-quality support and counselling for all incoming and outgoing exchange students and staff with the objective of ensuring the best possible student and staff experience from beginning to end, academically as well as socially. Participant reports are key indicators for reaching this goal.

You can also download the Code of Conduct (UK)

You can also download the Code of Conduct (DK)

The Erasmus Charter