VIKO progress on the Erasmus+ digitization path
The European Commission includes Vilnius University of Applied Sciences in the list of good practice examples – as an institution that has made progress in the digitization process. Examples of good practice will aim to inspire colleagues from other institutions by collecting and sharing advice and observations on the key principles of how the EWP platform works.
The Erasmus+ programme, perhaps the best-known programme of the European Union, which provides learning and development opportunities for people of various ages, statuses, and professions, as well as the opportunity for various organizations to implement projects that meet the programme’s criteria, has been in existence for 35 years. This programme helped more than 100 thousand citizens to gain international academic experience. Vilnius University of Applied Sciences (VIKO) was one of the first higher education institutions in Lithuania to join the Erasmus program in 1998. Every year, more than 200 students and more than 100 VIKO teachers and staff gain international academic experience in foreign higher education institutions using the opportunities of the Erasmus programme.
The new phase of Erasmus+ programme, which will continue until 2027, pays a lot of attention to environmental actions and digitalisation. One of the priorities of this phase is to get rid of paper versions of documents. Higher education institutions, following the technical standards of the European Student Card Initiative, are starting to implement digital student mobility management. The given opportunity to connect to the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) network allows transferring the administration of inter-institutional contracts and mobility to the electronic space. VIKO has joined the EWP process since its initiation: in December 2018 a representative of VIKO participated in the founding conference of this initiative, held at Ghent University, Belgium, and from 2021 VIKO is actively transferring to EWP.