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Internationalization of online courses, or the Virtual Exchange Credit Programme (VECP), is a way to make adding an international component to one's study plan easier for students. VECP is thus more inclusive for all students to take part in, and helps in widening their knowledge by gaining access to larger course base. Also, teachers benefit from the input from students who study at another university. VECP offers a more international and intercultural learning environment, and acts as a practical addition to physical student mobility.

The process

VECP courses are all taught and assessed completely online, and the courses are chosen from the existing curriculum. The courses are added to the Unite! course catalogue, after which students from Unite! partner universities can apply to said courses. After a selection period the students are given their study rights, orientation packages and then added to the course. Once the course is finished, the students transfer the credits to their home university study plans with the help of their local student services.

The pilot programmes

There are currently 3 VECP pilot programmes through which the courses are offered: 

- Energy engineering, for master students in the field of energy, the next call for courses will take place in autumn 2023

- Architectural engineering, for master students in the field of architecture and building technology

- Language and cultural competence courses, for all students

Examples of courses offered by Aalto professors in the past:

- Energy engineering: EEN-E3001 Fundamentals of Industrial Energy Engineering, PHYS-E0483 Advances in New Energy Technologies, PHYS-E6570 Solar Energy Engineering D, 31C01300: Energy and Environmental Economics

- Architectural engineering: ARK-E1023 Parametric Design, ARK-E1024 Algorithmic Design D

- Language and cultural competence courses: LC-0614 Developing Global Competence: Working in an International Virtual Team, LC-7003 Survival Finnish Online, LC-1322 Thesis Writing for Engineers (MSc)

How to get involved:

Do you have a course that is taught online or could be taught online? Contact your local Unite! VECP support at Aalto: Melina Nummi (melina.nummi@aalto.fi) 

Important to note: 

- Virtually attending students may require more guidance at the beginning of the course.

- It is important for the teacher to create opportunities for Aalto students to interact and collaborate with with virtually attending Unite! students, especially if the course can also be attended physically.

Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) is a course that combines physical and virtual learning. A BIP is organized by three different higher education institutions from three different Erasmus+ programme countries and funded by the Erasmus+ mobility programme. For more information about BIPs and how to get involved, go the the BIP Aalto page: Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) | Aalto University

Local support at Aalto: 

Melina Nummi (ENG)

Eija Kujanpää (SCI)

Alex Hetrick (ELEC)

Summer schools

Unite! partner universities often offer summer schools for Unite! students to take part in. Some of these summer schools offer an opportunities for teachers as well, for example guest lecturing. Summer schools often utilize the BIP structure, having the course start usually with a couple of weeks of on-site teaching, and then having the students finish the course online.

You can also create a summer school course yourself and invite colleagues from other Unite! universities to give lectures or co-host the course. 

Examples of Unite! summer schools that Aalto University has hosted in the past:

- Design thinking and product development - Unite! | Aalto University

- Communications engineering and data science summer course - Unite! | Aalto University

- Machine learning course by Aalto University Summer School and Unite! kicks off with 60 students | Aalto University

Aalto University local contact for summer schools: Marcela Acosta Garcia (marcela.acosta@aalto.fi)

Collaborative online international teaching or, as they are called in the Unite! community, COILs, are a way for teachers to create and teach a course with colleagues from another Unite! partner university. 

COIL courses are an excellent way to combine teaching expertise from different Unite! universities. They provide the students access to courses that are not taught at Aalto while at the same time giving them the possibility to enhance their intercultural competences with their peers from the partner university.  

The COIL model connects accredited courses, linking the classrooms of two or more Unite! universities. Cooperating teachers create a shared syllabus of either already existing courses or to create a new course.  

The teachers work closely with all students, but students are awarded grades only at their home institution. The students do not need to be registered at the partner university and the course will be part of both universities’ curriculum. COIL courses are taught either fully online or offered as a hybrid option for the local students. Ideally, students should collaborate virtually in international teams​.  

The process 

Find an international partner to work with. If you don’t have a partner yet but have a topic in mind, we can help you to find a partner within the Unite! network. Make sure you involve the administrators at an early stage to get access to administrative and pedagogical support.  

Pilots 

We are currently piloting COIL courses in Unite! Please get in touch to find out more.  

More about the creation of the course and how to get involved: 

Local support at Aalto: Melina Nummi (melina.nummi@aalto.fi)  

International joint degree programmes are two-year English-language master's programmes in which students study at two or more universities. Upon completion successfully the two year studies, the students will receive double or multiple degree. Unite! supports the development of joint programmes between the Alliance partners in various ways. The expert group “Joint Programmes” is working on supporting documentation and tools to boost and facilitate the development of joint programmes. There is also annual seed funding call for new initiatives related to education. 

One of the first Unite! Joint Programmes is CoDaS - Unite! Master of Science in Communications Engineering and Data Science . This Master programme coordinated by Aalto involves following Unite! partners: Grenoble INP (Graduate Schools of Engineering and Management, Université Grenoble Alpes), Técnico Lisboa at Universidade de Lisboa and UPC Barcelona.  The Programme will empower students to solve industry-relevant problems employing cutting-edge tools of artificial intelligence, automation and control theory, data analytics, wireless systems, and signal processing. Students will acquire competences in a range of techniques covering the broad areas of electronics, data science, distributed systems, modelling and analysis of signals and systems, machine learning models, and communication systems. During their studies, students will further acquire expertise in other areas, such as teamwork and coordination, entrepreneurship, critical thinking, and sustainability.

If you plan to develop a new international joint master's degree programme or bilateral double degree collaboration with Unite! partners, contact first your school experts in Learning Services (Manager of study affairs or Manager of international relations) and in addition get in touch with Eija Kujanpää (School of Science, eija.kujanpaa@aalto.fi, coordinator of Unite! 4.2 expert group (Joint Programmes). 

Aalto offers also many other international joint programmes International Joint Degree Programmes | Aalto University. Useful information can be found here Programme director's handbook | Aalto University and Preparing a new degree programme | Aalto Universit.

Call for seed funding here Unite! University Alliance Launches Seed Fund to Foster Collaborative Teaching, Research and Student Activities | Aalto University.

Course organizers are often looking for professors in partner universities to give a guest lecture in a specialized topic, or to help facilitate a collaborative course. These guest lectures can be organized online. For a bigger role in collaborative courses, a teacher exchange can be arranged (min. 8 teaching hours per week). Further information about the Erasmus+ funding for teacher and staff exchanges for Aalto employees: Erasmus+ mobility grants for staff | Aalto University

Finding Unite! contacts:

Anita Bisi, International Relations Manager, anita.bisi@aalto.fi

Aalto contact person in Unite! Professional Development & Training 

The Joint Educational Offering Online Toolkit 

The toolkit supports academic and administrative staff in building and running joint education. It provides essential tools, guidelines, and best practices from all nine Unite! universities.

The toolkit is dedicated especially to 

• Joint Programmes that are degree leading master's programmes run by two or more partner universities,
• Collaborative Courses that are single courses or modules run by two or more partner universities, and
• Virtual Exchangeswhere a university's courses are opened to participants from other Unite! universities. 

More information and local support at Aalto: 

Eija Kujanpää, International Relations Manager at the School of Science

Online Teaching Digital Toolbox

This online repository contains the elements involved in creating joint online courses, including a technology toolbox, good online teaching practices, and a compilation of activities suitable for an online environment.

Aalto University local support staff will help you look for collaboration opportunities in the Unite! partner universities.

Unite! partner universities:

- Kungliga Tekniska högskolan (KTH) in Sweden:

- Technische Universität Darmstadt (TUDa) in Germany:

- Politechnika Wrocławska (WrocTech) in Poland:

- Technische Universität Graz (TU Graz) in Austria:

- Grenoble INP-UGA in France:

- Politecnico di Torino in Italy:

- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Spain:

- Instituto Superior Técnico Lisboa in Portugal:

Local support at Aalto University: Minna-Kaarina Forssén (minna-kaarina.forssen@aalto.fi)

Seed funding

The seed fund is a new initiative of the Unite! University Alliance to stimulate and support bottom-up proposals by teachers, researchers and students for collaborative activities and help form sustainable academic and student communities across the nine Unite! universities. More information about the seed fund can be found here. The next application period for seed funding is between 15 January and 15 March 2024.

If you need ideas for the seed fund or have questions regarding the application, contact Minna-Kaarina Forssén (minna-kaarina.forssen@aalto.fi).

Mobility funding for staff and teacher mobility

Teachers and staff traveling to other Unite! universities can apply for Erasmus+ staff and teacher exchange scholarships. More information can be found here: Erasmus+ mobility grants for staff | Aalto University.

BIP funding

An Erasmus+ BIP is a funding instrument for short-term courses that combine physical (min. 5 days) and virtual learning. To be eligible a BIP course needs to be for min. 3 ECTS and have at least 15-20 mobile participants and the funding is 6000-8000 EUR per course depending on the number of mobile participants.

For more information about applying for funding: Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) | Aalto University or contact Saara Kilponen (saara.kilponen@aalto.fi).

Help with student engagement and international marketing

Aalto University and Unite! offer help for marketing courses and international opportunities to students. Our student marketing officer and Unite! communications manager can help you reach the target group of the study opportunity you're offering. We can also market the study opportunity in period newsletters and in student guilds. If you want to advertise international opportunities for students or staff, contact our communications manager Suvi Lavinto (suvi.lavinto@aalto.fi).

Local support

Local support is offered for all the above mentioned activities. You can find contact persons at the end of each listed activity. Help is also available from Aalto University Student services and Learning services of the Aalto University schools.

The Unite! Metacampus is the federated digital learning platform of Unite! Alliance.
The learning management system (LMS) serves as a collaborative digital space for staff and students, facilitating joint courses, programs, and training opportunities within the alliance.

Similar to MyCourses, is a Moodle-based platform where you make your courses accessible to Unite! partners. Metacampus is ideal for courses where the participants are affiliated to Unite's member universities, as their affiliates can easily login and enrol to courses without extra work. Metacampus is available in the languages spoken at the partner universities and it also offers the possibility of emitting .

For courses that should grant study credits, accreditation of studies should be agreed in advance with the participants' home universities.

More info and local support at Aalto:

Veruscka Xavier Filgueira, Digital Learning Specialist

veruscka.xavierfilgueira@aalto.fi

Unite! strives to offer low threshold access to their research infrastructures also for students and researchers as well as external users. facilitates access to shared research infrastructures among partners, enabling researchers to utilize state-of-the-art facilities and laboratories. This includes high-performance computing platforms, specialized laboratories, virtual reality tools, and specialized equipment. These shared resources enhance research capabilities, accelerate project timelines, and break down geographical barriers for collaboration.

The online research infrastructure catalogue provides detailed information on each RI, including a concise description, a link to the respective website, contact email addresses, availability of technical personnel for external user assistance, and whether it has an online booking system.

Inquire about access from individual research infrastructures.

acts as a central notice board, connecting researchers with opportunities for collaboration, project consortia, and seed funding. Researchers can browse and apply for relevant opportunities, expanding their network and securing support for their research endeavors. This platform facilitates the formation of impactful partnerships and accelerates the pursuit of groundbreaking research. 

Unite! also organises matchmaking events targeted to researchers, especially in their early career. The last event took place in Grenoble in January 2024 and was focused on health technology. 

You can also contact Key Liaison Officer Minna-Kaarina Forssén at Aalto who can help you find research partners in the Unite! universities. 

The seed fund is a new initiative of the Unite! University Alliance to stimulate and support bottom-up proposals by teachers, researchers and students for collaborative activities and help form sustainable academic and student communities across the nine Unite! universities. The next application period for seed funding is open during 15 January - 15 March 2024. More information about the seed fund can be found here: Apply for Unite! Seed Fund to foster collaborative teaching, research and student activities

If you need ideas for the seed fund or have questions regarding the application, contact Minna-Kaarina Forssén (minna-kaarina.forssen@aalto.fi).

The handbook reveals the best open science and innovation practices from research teams in the Unite! university alliance, exposes guidelines for the adoption of these practices, and shapes a new governance model for the management of open science and innovation in universities.