Erasmus Code: G Larissa02

Erasmus Policy Statement

TEI of Thessaly is committed to promoting the European dimension of Higher Education, in full accordance with the institution’s mission to educate our students as responsible citizens in a democratic country and integrated Europe and as competent professionals in the EU labour market.

Since 1990, our institution has participated in the implementation of many EU initiatives, such as SOCRATES & LLP-Erasmus, TEMPUS, ALPHA, NOW, LEONARDO, with partners mostly from European countries. Within the framework of the Lisbon process for a European knowledge-based society and economy, our institution strategy focuses on facilitating the access to and exchange of knowledge and experience for students and the academic and administrative staff through mobility activities, projects and networks.

TEI of Thessaly has not defined any geographical priorities for partnerships. So far, emphasis has been on European countries with the aim to increase the number of our partners, especially in the twelve new EU countries. The focus currently has extended towards Middle East neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Israel, on the basis of previous successful collaboration within TEMPUS, and towards the USA, Canada and Australia, on the other hand, in order to exploit the benefits that can derive from the collaboration with the large community of Greek scientists working in HEIs in these countries.

TEI of Thessaly mobility strategy comprises the following objectives:

a) to increase the mobility of staff and students in all cycles, and triple the ratio of mobility. Mobility Actions to Third Countries, the new activities in the Programme, will offer further potential for TEI of Thessaly to meet the increased student and staff mobility targets.

b) to improve quality in the implementation of mobility activities as part of the whole educational process.

c) to reinforce the administrative structures that support the implementation of all Erasmus activities, and strengthen the role of the European Programmes Office by increasing the number of administrative staff involved and providing opportunities for training to increase motivation.

d) to encourage academic staff to actively participate in all Key Actions and initiatives, by providing assistance at all stages of a project life-cycle through the European Programmes Office and the TEI of Thessaly Education & Research Committee.

e) to improve the facilities that meet the incoming students’ needs by offering counselling and student networking, along with accommodation, full board, health care and access to ICT which are provided so far, in order to prevent xenophobia and racism.

f) to further develop the educational services for the incoming students by organizing core courses taught in English at school level, tutoring and work groups with TEI local students, and increasing the Greek language courses, aiming to facilitate their integration in our academic society.

TEI of Thessaly intends to strengthen its existing partnerships with the development of joint and double degree programmes in collaboration with European and international partner institutions. In order to increase visibility our institution will widely present Erasmus activities to the TEI society and the local society, aiming at enhancing social cohesion and the involvement of the local authorities in the implementation of such activities. The Erasmus Charter and EPS, as well as outcomes, results, good practices and innovative projects will be prominently publicised on the TEI website, and the experience gained will be incorporate in future activities.

TEI of Thessaly is committed to an equal opportunity policy and all individuals are treated equally regardless of gender, age, disability, colour, race, national origin, socio-economic background, religion or political beliefs. The integration of disabled students and staff is facilitated by providing special services regarding accommodation and teaching.