International collaboration

University West has a clear focus on the student and on learning. We are known as an academy characterised by high creativity and professionalism. The identity of the university is carried by a clear intellectual perspective, work-integrated learning and research of highest international quality with a strong link to practical use and application.

University West recognizes the importance of international cooperation. Our ambition is to attain quality and multitude in our mobility activites in order to provide excellent possibilities for international experience and competence for both students and staff. We also strive to create a window in our programmes to allow for a semester abroad. This is done to avoid an interruption in the studies and instead incorporate the foreign studies.

Our main focus has been set to students in first cycle and will remain so. However, we aim to increase also relevant mobility opportunities for students in second and third cycle in order to add a crucial international edge to the research area.

The researchers at University West are part of the international research community, whils participating in conferences and publishing results in international academic journals. There are several ongoing international research projects that includes our reseachers but we wish to enhance their mobility opportunities by open up for a wider variety of options.

We strive for academically balanced partnerships and encourage those that offer a variety of collaborative opportunities. This enables us to improve quality and increase the scope and multitude of our international cooperation with HEI's and enterprises and/or organisations. This also provide a wider range of mobility possibilities to teachers and staff.

Our focus is to build strong, qualitative and long-term relationships with European institutions within mutual subject areas as ours, with the intention to develop a variety of operational opportunities on educational and/or research level. These are qualities we look for when choosing partners.

We also aim to extend collaboration to our Chinese or Indian partners but also other non-EU HEI's in developed and/or developing countries. As for geographic area, collaborative possibilities corresponding to our objectives are more important than where the partner is located.

Together with a French partner University West offer a double degree. Students from University West attend business courses at the partner institution and vice versa for two semesters during their last academic year on Bachelor's level. During this year they produce their thesis work and obtain a double degree. Yet another double degree is under discussion that involves one of our non-EU partner. 

We also wish to achieve mobility possibilities to research related cooperation between partners and/or enterprises, and to organisations and/or enterprises for high quality traineeship opportunities. By doing so we link education and research to business which fits our work integrated learning profile well.

Being a relatively small institution internationalization is of outmost importance to us to attain and enhance our character and sound reputation. We wish to continue to excel our range of education and our research achievements internationally, by creating interesting alliances' and partnerships with HEI's/partner institutions,
organisations and enterprises. We therefore value our partner university collaboration highly and will work actively to keep them close, active and sincere on more than one level.

We see participation in the ECHE programme as an essential factor to enable us to reach our goals set for internationalization.