Quality Assurance in the Service of International Student Mobility: the Case of Internships
Documentation
- Stéphanie Devèze-Delaunay, French Ministry of Higher Education and Research
- Vianna Renaud, Bournemouth University
Abstract
Issue: International quality assurance through standardization of the requirements for a university or non-university internship and its recognition in university curricula promising success?
SPRINT: “Standardize best PRactices about INTernships" was a 40-month project that began on September 1st 2017 and ended on December 31st 2020.
It was a strategic partnership project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme that aimed to improve young people’s integration into the labour market by creating a European Quality framework for Internships.
The project objectives were the following:
- Create a European Quality framework for Internships that would be recognized and accepted by employers;
- Establish a strong partnership among organizations that work in this field and join expertise in order to improve the quality of internships;
- Raise stakeholders’ (youth, universities, employers) collective awareness about quality internships;
- Analyze, report, disseminate and further build upon data collected to steer policy debate and incentivize employers to improve their practices;
- Prepare training of the different stakeholders, thus ensuring the correct application of the new standard and ensuring the sustainability of the outcomes of the project.
The end goal of this project was to work on a unique Quality Framework for Internships valid for the whole Europe. These quality criteria should support students and graduates in transition from education to the labor market.
This project has been recognized by the European Commission as a good practices one because of the creation of this simple and practice framework instead of complicated and inapplicable rules. The next step is the creation of an ISO norm. This debate will explain how the building of structured good practices with the tool of standardization can help to have a consensus between all the stakeholders (student, companies, higher education institution, trade unions)
Stéphanie Devèze-Delaunay
Deputy Head of Department Unit of Education and Employment relationships Sub directorate for programmes and employability General directorate for higher education and employability, French Ministry of Higher Education and Research
- Deputy head of the department link education employment in the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation since January 1, 2019, I work there to put in place tools to facilitate the progress of studies and the integration of students .
- After law studies, I started working in the private sector (mass distribution, accounting) and then joined higher education (university then ministry).
- She created a network of higher education and research lawyers (JURISUP ) with over 150 institutions. I am now its honorary president-founder.
- She ist a member of the association of women leaders in higher education, research and innovation (AFDESRI), of the association EVALUE - European evaluators of the ERASMUS + agency.
- Deeply European, I coordinate the European project SPRINT (standardize best practices about internships) from 2017 to 2020.
Vianna Renaud
Placement Development Advisor and Postgraduate Researcher, Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP) Faculty of Media and Communication, Bournemouth University UK
Vianna Renaud is a Placement Development Advisor for the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University in the UK. She is currently undertaking her doctoral research on the impact of peer to peer coaching and is also a Trustee for ASET, the UK Work Based and Placement Learning Association.