The modernization and internationalization of universities can be measured through their level of project management and the ability to participate effectively in major EU funding programmes for research, education, training and transnational collaboration between universities.
On the basis of a needs analysis conducted internally at the University of Economics in Prague, and inherent in the management of European projects, it became evident that there is a need to improve the overall conditions that favor the preparation and implementation of international projects. Among the most significant problems identified by the personnel interviewed were the lack of sufficient support in the processes of managing international projects offered by the international relation offices and the lack of a strategic framework that would have the role to identify a team for the project proposal preparation rather than leaving this task to the individual, as often happens. This type of difficulty is found in many European universities together with an unclear distribution of roles, responsibilities and competencies of the staff, difficulties in dealing with the complex project documentation required for challenging calls and difficulties in the formulation of the consortium. All this results in the presentation of an unsatisfactory number of project proposals and consequently of approved projects.
Project Nutshell aims to improve the performance of universities and their international relations offices in participating in European funding programs by:
- increasing international projects management competencies of administrative staff, academics and Ph.D. students in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs);
- identifying main problems and challenges in HEIs regarding the processes and mechanisms for preparing and managing UE-funded projects and offer practical solutions;
- facilitating the exchange of best practices associated to international project management processes among institutions and redesign of processes;
- identifying good practices and support tools for smooth and efficient communication with project partners.
Following a research plan agreed among the project partners during the Kick off Meeting held on 7-9 October 2021 in Ljubljana, the analysis of the existing international project management processes will be performed involving academic and administrative staff. The research will serve the partner institutions as a handbook to first identify project management processes, personnel, human resources and their roles and supporting tools to develop an archive of process models in place.
About the project
Project Nutshell is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme – Strategic partnership for Higher Education.
Partners
- Prague University of Economics and Business (Czech Republic, coordinator)
- University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
- Humak University of Applied Science (Finland)
- CESIE (Italy)
For further information
Read more about Project Nutshell.
Contact Caterina Impastato: caterina.impastato@cesie.org.
