Project No. 2024-1-BG01-KA131-HED-000203407
Background and Objectives
Project No. 2024-1-BG01-KA131-HED-000203407 was implemented with the financial support of the Erasmus+ Programme. The project was contracted for a duration of 26 months, from 01/06/2024 to 31/07/2026. Its main quantitative objectives were to deliver 1 Blended Intensive Programme with at least 16 mobile participants and to carry out 120 mobilities of students and staff of D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics to higher education institutions and organisations in Programme countries. These comprised 30 student mobilities (15 for studies and 15 for traineeships) and 90 staff mobilities (45 for teaching and 45 for training).
The project also pursued qualitative objectives. For mobile students and doctoral candidates, these were to build self-confidence, improve adaptability to new situations, increase openness to new challenges, and strengthen analytical thinking and problem-solving skills. For staff, they were to adopt good practices in designing and delivering learning content, experiment with new teaching and learning practices, increase job satisfaction, improve linguistic, cultural and social competences, gain confidence in intercultural settings, and expand professional networks.
At institutional level, the project aimed to expand opportunities for international cooperation and to strengthen cooperation within the KreativEU European Universities Alliance, including through building the H&ART transnational incubator for arts and heritage. It also aimed to develop collaboration with partner higher education institutions outside the Erasmus+ Programme countries.
Implementation
A total of 141 student and staff mobilities were carried out under the project: 25 student and doctoral mobilities for studies, 15 for traineeships, 73 staff mobilities for training and 28 for teaching. Of these, 140 were outgoing and 1 was incoming, by an invited expert from an organisation outside the higher education sector. One mobility (a student mobility for studies) was international and took place in the Republic of Korea.
Short-term blended mobilities accounted for 24.11% (34 of 141) of all exchanges: 45.00% (18 of 40) of student mobilities and 15.84% (16 of 101) of staff mobilities. Thirty-one mobilities (17 student and 14 staff) took the form of participation in 12 Blended Intensive Programmes organised by partner higher education institutions. Twenty exchanges (14.18%) involved doctoral candidates, 19 of which were short-term physical mobilities. The project also recorded 1 mobility by a recent graduate (6.67% of traineeship mobilities) and 1 zero-grant staff mobility for training, carried out without funding from the project budget.
Geographically, outgoing student and staff mobilities took place at higher education institutions and organisations in Romania (38), Portugal (21), Slovakia (12), Czechia (11), North Macedonia (11), Poland (10), Türkiye (6), Italy (5), Latvia (4), Serbia (4), Greece (3), Finland (3), Germany (2), Cyprus (2), Lithuania (2), Sweden (2), Spain (1), Slovenia (1), Croatia (1) and the Republic of Korea (1), in 20 host countries in total. Student mobilities took place in 13 countries, led by Portugal (12), Czechia (6) and Romania (5). Staff mobilities took place in 14 countries, led by Romania (33), Slovakia (11), North Macedonia (11) and Portugal (9). In line with the Academy's Erasmus Policy Statement and Internationalisation Strategy for 2021–2028, 1 incoming mobility was also carried out by an invited expert from an organisation outside the higher education sector (Kultur Land MV, Germany).
The Academy coordinated 1 Blended Intensive Programme for staff, entitled "Creating Art and Heritage Incubators that Matter: From Idea to Impact". It was developed in partnership between D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics (coordinator and host institution), Valahia University of Târgoviște (Romania) and the University of Trnava (Slovakia). The programme comprised a 5-day intensive physical component in Plovdiv (15–19 June 2026), followed by a virtual component delivered through the Academy's institutional e-learning system. It had 19 participants: 18 mobile participants from 8 higher education institutions in 8 countries and 1 local participant from D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics.
Results
The project exceeded its quantitative targets for outgoing student and staff mobility by 17.50% (141 mobilities achieved against 120 contracted). The target for Blended Intensive Programmes was fully met (1 of 1 contracted), and the number of mobile participants exceeded the target by 12.50% (18 against 16).
By category, student mobility exceeded its target by 33.33% overall (40 against 30). Student mobility for studies exceeded its target by 66.67% (25 against 15), and traineeships were fully met (15 of 15). Staff mobility exceeded its target by 12.22% overall (101 against 90). Staff mobility for training exceeded its target by 62.22% (73 against 45), while staff mobility for teaching reached 62.22% of its target (28 of 45), i.e. 37.78% below the contracted number.
Student mobilities for studies outweighed traineeships in a ratio of 62.50% to 37.50%. Short-term blended formats were strongly represented, accounting for 45.00% of student mobilities, and 47.50% of student mobilities (19 of 40) involved doctoral candidates. One traineeship mobility (6.67%) was carried out by a recent graduate.
Sixty-five exchanges (46.10%) used sustainable means of transport: 57.43% (58 of 101) of staff mobilities and 17.50% (7 of 40) of student mobilities. Participant satisfaction was high. 100.00% of outgoing students on study mobility, 93.00% of outgoing trainees and 100.00% of outgoing staff were satisfied with their Erasmus+ experience, as were 100.00% of incoming participants in all categories (students for studies, trainees and staff). All students (100.00%) and 99.00% of staff reported that they had benefited from their mobility.
The project also produced qualitative effects. These include stronger ties and broader forms of cooperation with higher education institutions in Programme countries through joint participation in projects, and deeper cooperation within the KreativEU European Universities Alliance.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.