ERASMUS POLICY STATEMENT
The Institute of Literary Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences studies Polish literature and culture and is the country’s most important center of research on topics such as literary history and theory, scientific editorship, comparatory literature, as well as Holocaust, Gender, European, Postcolonial and Post-Communist Studies. A part of the Institute’s scientific mission is offering III degree education, which has the advantage of integrating doctoral students with outstanding scientists and enabling young people to start their research in the Institute already during their studies. The Institute brings its scientific and educational mission into practice also through international cooperation with similar centers and slavic university departments in other countries.
The aim of doctoral studies at IBL is to give students knowledge and abilities necessary to take up scientific work in the area of humanities in the multicultural society of modern Europe. IBL implements the directives of the Declaration of Bologna, caring about improving the quality and making its educational offer international. One of the ways to reach such a goal is intensification of scholarship exchange of students and tutors with partner centers. Promoting mobility has a priority within the participation of IBL in the Erasmus program. IBL will aim for steadily increasing the number of students participating in international exchange programs, understanding the educational, linguistic and cultural profits they can gain through participation in Erasmus programs. We also support staff exchange, because it contributes to the employees’ scientific careers and helps them adapt to work in an international environment.
IBL plans to increase continuously the number of partner centers and to intensify cooperation with them, encouraging also tutors from partner universities to conduct seminars at our Institute. The Institute will also strive towards implementing the concept of combining studies in other countries with foreign practice, which will make its graduates more competitive at the labor market. An important tool for increasing mobility will be a continuous perfection of the system of recruitment, evaluation and monitoring of the students’ and employees’ official trips within the Erasmus Program.
IBL is also planning to broaden its educational offer with new forms of cooperation such as intense learning programs, in order to increase the number of tutors and students engaged in working in multicultural groups and to enable lecturers to exchange their views of the content and methods of teaching. IBL plans as well to establish cooperation in the form of short study trips of administrative employees, which will enable them to exchange experience and gain new abilities. We also plan to take part in centralized activities, such as multilateral projects involving development of modern programs and methods of teaching in humanities, as well as “virtual campus” type projects.
IBL obliges itself to publishing the Erasmus Policy Statement on its website. Recruitment information will be available on the Institute’s message boards and its website, as well as in form of e-mails to students and lecturers. We will offer information meetings to individuals interested in participating. Furthermore, our Erasmus Program Coordinator will provide information to interested persons in his or her administrative work hours.
Already now a large percentage (60%) of students and scientific staff of IBL are women; several people of minority confession and/or origin are employed. A part of IBL activities related to implementing Erasmus project will be to observe and actively promote EU objectives regarding equal treatment and tolerance regardless of country of origin, race, gender, religion, other views and sexual orientation. Within its technical possibilities IBL will provide support for students with special needs.
To provide the highest available quality of intercollege exchange, IBL guarantees:
1) to outgoing students:
-equal access to information on possibility and conditions of participation for everyone interested;
-transparent procedures of candidate selection, based on their language skills and scientific achievements;
-access to recruitment results and reserve list to all interested;
-exemption from tuition fee for qualified students;
-use of ECTS system for easier calculation and comparison of students’ achievements;
-recognition of results, experiences and qualifications gained abroad;
-signing an Learning Agreement, prepared in cooperation with the foreign partner, as well as agreement between IBL and outgoing student;
-continuous contact with outgoing students;
-issue of a diploma supplement, certifying having completed a part of studies abroad.
2) to incoming students:
-access to information on possibility and conditions of studying at IBL and the current program, along with ECTS score for respective courses, through the English version of the IBL website;
-assistance in finding accommodation and solving logistic problems related to the stay in Poland;
-individual scientific consultations with IBL lecturers, related to the students’ own research, in Polish or a foreign language;
-possibility to join the Institute’s research work;
-a course of Polish;
-assistance from tutors caring for adaptation in new conditions and integration with the IBL community.
3) to tutors:
-access to information on possibilities of going abroad and coming to IBL;
-transparent rules of sending candidates to lectures abroad and inviting candidates to lectures at IBL;
-responsibility of program coordinator for contact with partner center and logistic help, such as organizing transport, accommodation, insurance etc.;
-approval, in form of a written agreement, for privileges and duties related to conducting courses in a partner center.
IBL wants to implement a strategy of cooperation, which will assist students in gaining qualifications helping them in personal development and in improving their chances of employment. We are planning to win partners with a potential, which will enable realization of training goals relative to individual needs of IBL students. It will be European scientific and cultural institutions, such as libraries, museums, archives, scientific institutes. As an institution sending students abroad we commit ourselves to:
-promote practices abroad through providing information about them on our message boards and the Institute’s website;
-select beneficiaries according to transparent criteria;
-obtain a Training Agreement from the host institution, which will contain a description of the beneficiary’s duties, adjusted to his or her needs, as well as description of the goals of practice in terms of abilities and qualifications to gain, and information on the period of practice and the person responsible for the training course;
-introduce of decisions related to receiving training into agreements within the Erasmus program. Practical agreements between the parties will relate to the training period, duties of respective parties, funding practice, monitoring and evaluation;
-guarantee logistic help to training recipients (work permit etc.);
-stay in contact with the trainee and host institution, along with current evaluation on the program (monthly reports, evaluation questionnaires);
-recognize abilities and competences gained by the trainee abroad;
-obtain from the host institution an evaluation of the degree of accomplishment of practice program in form of a final report and provision of references in form of a Certificate Company document;
-oblige trainees to provide a final report evaluating the degree of accomplishment of the program, the host institution, their satisfaction with the practice and the level of its utility.