High Five Reloaded focus on internationalization at academic institutions in the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Partnership countries. The project will address the prerequisites for interaction and communication in international academic activities.
Internationalization of higher education institutions is challenging for many reasons. For example, the High Five Reloaded project, whose partners have been working together for many years, notes that there exist no mechanism or protocol for interaction between the universities’ international offices. Neither are there any guidelines for interaction. As a consequence, valuable time is lost when researchers and teachers set up new international programmes using a trial-and-error approach. Other challenges include language barriers and lack of knowledge regarding cultural differences in different countries. To overcome these challenges, the High Five Reloaded project will develop guidelines and a model for interaction during internationalization activities. It will be working with a master programme in biomedical/life science, using courses that can be recognized by all partner universities. The idea is that the master programme will bridge existing and future research projects. The model will specifically address contacts between administration, research and education. It will include algorithms for student and staff exchange, and a “good to know and good to have” list for initiation of international academic collaborations, et cetera.