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Moving closer to the EU through exchange

Erasmus+ worldwide and the focus on the Western Balkans
Concerning practice
Reading time: 7 min.
Text: Marco Stenzel

Since 2015, the "International Credit Mobility" (ICM; programme lines KA107/KA171) has enabled student and university staff exchanges with partner countries around the world. The programme aims to strengthen existing partnerships and foster new collaborations, for example through activities such as joint research projects and curriculum development or Erasmus+ "Cooperation Partnerships". The Western Balkans are of particular importance in this context. Three project examples from Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS) and Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) illustrate how exchanges with countries in the region can be strategically leveraged to advance universities’ own internationalisation goals. 

Since 2020, the "Get Balkanised!" programme from Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, has offered students the chance to undertake funded work placements in the Western Balkans. The programme combines academic learning with practical international work experience and strengthens cooperation between the university and civil society organisations, international institutions and businesses across the region. 

"Get Balkanised!" program at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences

  • Partner countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro, as well as the programme countries North Macedonia and Serbia
  • Local partner organisations: international development organisations, non-governmental organisations, foundations, business development agencies and companies with a regional focus
  • Number of internship places: 20 per year (sourced by H-BRS)
  • Start of the application process: October, followed by selection by the internship providers
  • Start of internship: from February/March of the following year
  • Duration of internship: 2–5 months
Funding through Erasmus+ KA171 (...) gives our students the opportunity not only to discover the Western Balkans as a neighbouring region of the EU, but also to gain valuable professional experience and broaden their perspectives through meaningful engagement in the region.
Prof Dr Michael Sauer, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
[Translate to English:] Prof. Dr. Michael Sauer

"Blended Mobility" strengthens collaboration

Dresden University of Technology also maintains close ties with the EPOKA University in Tirana, Albania. In recent years, this relationship has developed into a strategic partnership focusing on international higher education cooperation, digital teaching and student mobility. This collaboration was initially established through the Erasmus+ project VALEU-X and subsequently expanded with funding from the ICM programme. The introduction of "Blended Mobility" opportunities in the current Erasmus+ programme has provided further impetus for the partnership. This unique approach combines virtual collaboration and teaching with on-site exchange. 

Multiple benefits for students

"Get Balkanised!" focuses on promoting international mobility and developing intercultural skills. Participants gain professional experience and engage critically with the social, economic and political developments of the Western Balkans. While gaining practical experience in international work environments, participants build lasting networks that can support their future academic and professional careers.

"Funding through Erasmus+ KA171 is central to our ‘Get Balkanised!’ programme," emphasises Michael Sauer, Professor in the Department of Social Policy and Social Security at H-BRS. "It gives our students the opportunity not only to discover the Western Balkans as a neighbouring region of the EU, but also to gain valuable professional experience and broaden their perspectives through meaningful engagement in the region." To prepare for their placements, students take part in a preparatory course covering the history of the Western Balkans, its cultural and socio-economic context, as well as an introduction to the local language.

Learning together virtually

While the H-BRS project continues to focus primarily on "traditional" mobility, the activities undertaken by TU Dresden in collaboration with EPOKA University emphasise on "Virtual Collaborative Learning" (VCL) and "Collaborative Online International Learning" (COIL). Over several weeks, students from TU Dresden and EPOKA work together in international, interdisciplinary teams on practical projects. This approach enables them to develop their subject-specific knowledge and their digital and intercultural skills. 

[Translate to English:] Auftakt des COIL-Projekts in Dresden 2024
[Translate to English:] Auftakt des COIL-Projekts in Dresden 2024 

Launch of the COIL Project in Dresden in 2024

Innovative approaches for urban challenges

One successful example of the collaboration between the universities of Dresden and Tirana is the 2024 module "Conceptualizing Tirana as a Smart City". Working in interdisciplinary teams, students from both universities developed innovative concepts to address urban challenges, exploring smart city solutions tailored to the Albanian capital. The project brought together the benefits of face-to-face and online learning, combining digital collaboration with academic supervision and practical engagement with public institutions. This approach created a dynamic and engaging international learning experience. 

The module began with a start-up week of face-to-face workshops in Dresden, bringing together students from TU Dresden and EPOKA University. This was followed by eight weeks of collaborative online project work in mixed teams, supported by specially trained e-tutors. The module concluded with a final week in Tirana, where students presented their results in person and took part in a programme of cultural and academic excursions. 

Summer School in Tirana

A further example of "Blended Mobility" funded through KA171 is the annual "Summer School Education and Technology" for PhD students, organised by the "Centre for Open Digital Innovation and Participation" (CODIP) at TU Dresden. The summer school brings together participants from TU Dresden and ten partner universities across Europe and beyond, including institutions in Austria, France (2), Norway, Indonesia, Brazil, Germany (2), Albania and Chile.

In 2025, EPOKA University hosted the “Summer School”. Early-stage researchers and experts came together for interdisciplinary discussions and practice-oriented workshops exploring the future of VCL, COIL and artificial intelligence in higher education. They also examined how digitalisation and internationalisation can transform higher education and help create more sustainable and inclusive learning ecosystems. 

Combining virtual and face-to-face phases proves successful

The “Summer School” consisted of three phases: an initial online phase was followed by a face-to-face programme in Tirana and a second online phase dedicated to reflection. Participants highlighted the benefits of combining virtual and in-person elements. Belkais Kebir, a PhD student at TU Dresden, emphasised: "Both the virtual preparatory phase and the face-to-face phase have broadened my specialist knowledge and provided me with important insights for my PhD project." Dr Mattis Altmann, coordinator of joint teaching and cooperation activities with EPOKA University, notes that the initial COIL and VCL formats "very quickly gave rise to a much broader line of collaboration". He adds: "This development (has) helped me grow enormously, both professionally and personally, as I have been able to witness the practical application of digital internationalisation and its ability to generate tangible relationships, learning processes and new research questions."

Funding under KA171 goes far beyond student mobility. It also supports 

  • visits by teaching and university staff,
  • the training of e-tutors to support international project groups during online phases,
  • the development of innovative (virtual) teaching and learning formats,
  • long-term institutional cooperation and joint curriculum development and
  • opportunities for practical projects, intercultural learning and developing intercultural competence.
This funding stream is particularly valuable because it enables us to implement innovative teaching and learning formats that combine short-term in-person stays with virtual phases of collaboration.
Tabea Gösche, Technische Universität Dresden
[Translate to English:] Porträt Tabea Gösche

Funding as a key component of internationalisation

"Under KA171, we often see how individual mobility opportunities lead to long-term collaborations, such as joint research projects, new connections between research groups or the international networking of early-stage researchers," explains Tabea Gösche, project coordinator for Erasmus+ worldwide at TU Dresden. "This funding stream is particularly valuable because it enables us to implement innovative teaching and learning formats that combine short-term in-person stays with virtual phases of collaboration." Sandy Eisenlöffel, Erasmus+ coordinator at TU Dresden, emphasises: "Global funding under Erasmus+ KA 171 has become a central component of TU Dresden’s strategic internationalisation. It represents a rare opportunity to build sustainable partnerships with institutions worldwide and to diversify our mobility portfolio."

KA 171 has become a central component of TU Dresden’s strategic internationalisation. It represents a rare opportunity to build sustainable partnerships with institutions in regions around the world and to diversify our mobility portfolio.
Sandy Eisenlöffel, Technische Universität Dresden
[Translate to English:] Sandy Eisenlöffel

The "Get Balkanised!" project at H-BRS, funded through KA171, also supports (long-term) cooperation with local partners, thereby contributing directly to the university’s internationalisation strategy. According to Professor Sauer, the funding helps foster "sustainable partnerships, professional networks and a form of internationalisation that brings Europe to life through encounters, cooperation and mutual learning." At the same time, the exchange of knowledge between universities and stakeholders from business and civil society enables students to develop global and intercultural competencies, promoting European educational cooperation and networking between the EU and Western Balkan countries, much like with the TU's projects. 

This funding enables us, as a university, to expand our partnerships in the Western Balkans in a targeted and sustainable way. This benefits (...) strengthens our position as an internationally oriented university (...) – with tangible benefits for research, teaching and knowledge transfer.
Sally Brammer, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
[Translate to English:] Sally Brammer

Tangible benefits and achievements

For Sally Brammer, coordinator of student mobility with non-EU countries at H-BRS, the benefits of ICM are obvious: "This funding enables us, as a university, to expand our partnerships in the Western Balkans in a targeted and sustainable way. This benefits not only individual staff members and students but also strengthens our position as an internationally oriented university of applied sciences – with tangible benefits for research, teaching and knowledge transfer."

Whether through work placements abroad or "Blended Mobility", these examples clearly demonstrate the programme`s positive impact on sustainable cooperation with countries in the Western Balkans, creating lasting benefits for everyone involved and for Europe as a whole. 

The Western Balkans region

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro are Erasmus+ partner countries, forming a distinct funding region within the programme. Apart from of Kosovo, all have been members of the European Higher Education Area for more than 20 years. All four countries are EU candidate countries and are expected to become Erasmus+ programme countries under the new programme generation. Serbia and North Macedonia, the other two countries in the region, already hold this status. Cooperation with these countries therefore takes place through Erasmus+ programme lines for programme countries, such as KA131, rather than through KA171.

The importance of the Western Balkans as a funding region is also reflected in the scale of investment; almost one-sixth of the total KA171 budget is allocated to the region. In addition, three Western Balkan countries - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo - rank among the ten most active partner countries in terms of the number of cooperation projects. 

The EU regards the Western Balkans as a strategically important region in terms of stability, economic development and European integration. In this context, Erasmus+ and KA171 play an important role by strengthening the links between higher education institutions in the region and the European Higher Education Area, while supporting reform processes in higher education. 

Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) higher education institution cooperations among higher education institutions international office internationalization strategy International Mobility involving third countries not associated to the Programme (KA171) good practice student mobility Western Balkans

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