International cooperation agreements open new frontiers for Birzeit University students, staff

Birzeit University students, staff, and faculty will have the chance to study and train at more than 60 universities and research institutions in Europe as part of a series of recently signed cooperation agreements coordinated by the university’s External Academic Relations Office. 

Part of the Erasmus+ international credit mobility program, the agreements connect Birzeit University’s community to universities in 25 countries in the European Union, linking students, professors, and staff members to their peers in such institutions as the University of Potsdam, in Germany; the University of Messina, the University of Pavia, and Accademia di Belle Arti G. Carrara, in Italy; Powiślański University, in Poland; the University of Murcia, in Spain; and Ankara University, in Turkey. 

Dr. Amir Khalil, Birzeit University’s external academic relations officer, said that the new agreements raise the number of the university’s international mobility partners to 69, allowing students to participate in lectures and seminars, professors to engage in groundbreaking research projects, and staff members to join training sessions and workshops in some of Europe’s finest and most well-regarded universities. 

Khalil and Dr. Tina Sherwell, director of Birzeit University’s Contemporary Visual Art program, held virtual meetings with representatives from European universities, in particular faculty and staff from Accademia di Belle Arti G. Carrara, on several occasions, discussing, among other things, the courses offered by the university, the nomination and selection procedure for Erasmus+ students, and the credit transfer methodology. 

While travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have meant that exchange students aren’t able to visit other universities, Khalil noted that various virtual events and activities will be organized by the partner institutions, and extra attention will be devoted to making the experience as interesting, and beneficial, as possible.