The document presents an integration kit for promoting virtual mobility in higher education institutions. The kit was created as part of the VMCOLAB project and contains case studies and examples of good practices related to seven crucial areas for higher education modernization: (1) exploiting ICT potential, (2) internationalizing curricula, (3) research collaboration, (4) networking, (5) complementing physical mobility programs, (6) assessing learning outcomes, and (7) academic recognition. The kit is intended to help institutions embrace virtual mobility and provide international learning experiences without physical travel. It compiles resources on implementing virtual exchange programs and shows how virtual mobility can support goals like collaboration, accessibility, and life-long learning.

1. VMCOLAB
Presentation of the Institutional
Awareness kit
Seminar “European Co-Laboratory for
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita. vmcolab.eu
Seminar “European Co-Laboratory for
the Integration of Virtual Mobility in
Higher Education Innovation and
Modernization Strategies”
Padova, 27 March 2014
Alfredo Soeiro
Samuel Martins

2. Integration Kit for Virtual Mobility:
a guide for Institutional awareness
Is an output of the VMCOLAB project (Virtual Mobility
Collaboratory);
Document as part of a strategy developed to increase the
institutional awareness for Virtual Mobility;
Tool used during the lifetime of the project to promote awareness of
Virtual Mobility inside the partner institutions and others;
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
Virtual Mobility inside the partner institutions and others;
Tool disseminated at national and international level;
Expectation that this VMCOLAB integration kit be used by other
Higher Education Institutions to promote Virtual Mobility among their
communities of students and academics;

3. Integration Kit for Virtual Mobility:
a guide for Institutional awareness
Compilation of good practises, projects and
tools related with Virtual Mobility;
Helpful for institutions that want to embrace
Virtual Mobility;
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
Virtual Mobility;
Document organized around seven topics,
identified as being crucial areas for the
modernization of Higher Education.

4. Integration Kit structure:
7 Crucial Areas for the modernization of Higher
Education:
• Full exploitatiom of ICT potential for Education (1 Case Study)
• Internationalization of curricula and study programmes (3 Case Study)
• Research collaboration (1 Case Study)
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
• Research collaboration (1 Case Study)
• Excellence building through networking (1 Case Study)
• Complementing Erasmus and other mobility programme with pre and post mobility
activities (2 Case Study)
• Assessment of Learning Outcomes and International examination (1 Case Study)
• Academic and Professional accreditation and recognition (2 Case Study)

5. Integration Kit structure:
• Full exploitatiom of ICT potential for Education
ICT creates new opportunities for teaching and learning;
Expected that a good use of ICT will provide solutions to current challenges of
international Education;
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
Internet has great impact on the availability, reusability, accessibility and cost of
learning resources
Communication and networking possibilities of the web take Education to a
global level
Virtual Mobility takes advantages of all the potential of the use of technology in
Education to provide international learning experiences to teacher and students,
without the need for physical mobility.

6. Integration Kit structure:
• Internationalization of curricula and study programmes.
Approached from the perspective of including international/global
values into the learning experience;
Underpinned by several European policies in fields like employment,
mobility, lifelong learning;
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
mobility, lifelong learning;
Curriculum design: internationalization puts an extra pressure on issues
like flexibility, assessment, language and cultural barriers, recognition
and accreditation;
All important issues when dealing with non-traditional mobile lifelong
learners.

7. Integration Kit structure:
• Research collaboration
International mobility of researchers is an important policy matter in Europe;
Increasing the mobility of researchers it will be possible to reduce current differences
among European countries;
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
VM may be an important way to achieve better collaboration among researchers from
different regions;
Internet and other communication technologies creates opportunities to establish
virtual networks of collaboration between researchers not only in one field of research
but also to facilitate the creation of interdisciplinary collaboration.

8. Integration Kit structure:
• Excellence building through networking
In Higher Education it is important that institutions learn how to collaborate and
establish partnerships with other organizations;
Networking creates opportunities for institutional learning and improvement in
areas like education, research, innovation and administration;
Possible to share resources and practises and to increase international
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
Possible to share resources and practises and to increase international
projection and recognition;
VM initiatives may constitute opportunities to increase networking between
institutions: institutions can share learning experiences, research and resources
that create synergies that benefit all the partners
VM experiences may facilitate comparison with peers that lead to the
improvement and quality of HEI.

9. Integration Kit structure:
• Complementing Erasmus and other mobility programme with
pre and post mobility activities
VM as a substitute or as a complement to physical mobility programmes like Erasmus;
Students may engage in virtual learning or cultural experiences that will facilitate the integration
during the physical mobility programme;
Important to follow-up on physical mobility activities that reinforce the link with between both HEI;
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
Important to follow-up on physical mobility activities that reinforce the link with between both HEI;
Used in multilateral curriculum development projects to enrich the international component of the
experience;
Increases the opportunity for more students to engage in international learning experiences;
Nature of VM: type of learning experiences can diverse: students may be able to select shorter
experiences, more specific to complement their studies;
Open Education: should be possible for the students to have a more personalized path based on
their preferences.

10. Integration Kit structure:
• Assessment of Learning Outcomes and International
examination
Assessment embeds cultural values that should be considered in
mobility situations (e.g: when students are being assessed in a foreign
language they will have an extra obstacle to overcome);
VM can approach this issue in a different way: students that engage in
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
VM can approach this issue in a different way: students that engage in
a VM experience may still be at their host institutions which may
facilitate overcoming some culturals barriers;
Learning Outcomes (LO) are of great importance in mobility situations
since they are the description of the learning experiences of the
students: LO’s will facilitate the international experience.
The combination of well defined assessment tasks and clear LO’s
statements are of great importance for the success of VM.

11. Integration Kit structure:
• Academic and Professional accreditation and recognition
Students and teachers that participate in VM activities should receive
certification and recognition, professional or academic: critical
component for the success of VM programmes;
Most institutions are using ECTS credits: there are still issues
concerning recognition;
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita.
concerning recognition;
VM: there are other factors that bring additional barriers (e.g: contact
hours in e-learning courses are not the same as face-to-face courses)
VM activities open up the possibilities of learning experiences the the
students may want to engage;
The offer of online learning experiences is increasing dramatically and
students will want to see their efforts recognized.

12. VMCOLAB
WP3 – Institutional Awareness
Seminar “European Co-Laboratory for
vmcolab.euProjecto financiado com o apoio da Comissão Europeia. A informação contida nesta publicação (comunicação) vincula
exclusivamente o autor, não sendo a Comissão responsável pela utilização que dela possa ser feita. vmcolab.eu
Seminar “European Co-Laboratory for
the Integration of Virtual Mobility in
Higher Education Innovation and
Modernization Strategies”
Padova, 27 March 2014
Alfredo Soeiro
Samuel Martins