We share with you the article from FH Münster about the Transnational Partner Meeting organized in the German city as we have reached the halfway point of our project.
In the “INTERLOCALITY” project, our university is working with project partners to develop tools that better integrate international students into the local labor market. A delegation recently visited the university’s sites.
In the Erasmus+ “INTERLOCALITY” project, our university, together with international educational partners, offers qualification and training programs for international students and companies, in order to retain these talents in the region and thus counteract the shortage of skilled personnel. During the third transnational partner meeting, the project partners from the University College of Northern Denmark, the ARCADA University of Applied Sciences in Finland, the FONTYS Hogeschool in the Netherlands, and the Sicilian employment agency SEND gathered for five days in Münster and Steinfurt to get to know our university.
In addition to in-person collaboration, the program for international visitors especially included getting to know the Hüffer Foundation and the Leonardo Campus in Münster, as well as the Steinfurt campus, and exchanging with local partners in the regional network. After exploring Münster – naturally by bicycle – project leaders Sarah Schönfelder, Nadine Pantel, and Anna Hölscher visited the MakerSpace prototyping lab, Prof. Dr. Thomas Jüstel’s inorganic chemistry lab, and Prof. Dr. Helmut Grüning’s Technikum for urban hydrology and water supply with their guests in Steinfurt. These are facilities where FH Münster, as a university of applied sciences, offers its students practical insights into their respective areas of specialization. The international visitors were impressed too – and would have liked to start their studies right there in Grüning’s Technikum, which shows through a network of channels what would otherwise be hidden underground, as they said.
Sebastian von Deel also invited to visit the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of North Westphalia, which as an associated partner in the project presented the region and its activities in the field of international personnel security. Both here and during an open exchange in the form of a brunch with employees of our university, many points of contact for shared ideas emerged.
“INTERLOCALITY” has now reached the halfway point of its three-year period. Students and companies can now benefit from the initial results of the project. An output of “INTERLOCALITY” is the so-called International Talent Journey, which facilitates entry into the local labor market – for example, with a part-time job or a practical period during studies and thesis. The project team discusses in advance with the students their specific needs and on this basis draws up an activity plan. “Students can now apply for trial runs of the International Talent Journey for the upcoming summer semester by writing to itj@fh-muenster.de,” says Schönfelder. In addition, the project team has developed self-learning modules for university and industry staff to build intercultural skills in the fields of “Guidance & Counseling”, “Intercultural Sensitivity”, and “Employer Ability” through digital learning.
More information is available at fh.ms/interlocality.