Comprehensive welcome well-structured webpage in English
The institutional welcome website is usually the first source of information about the HEI, typically containing information on the most important aspects related to smooth preparation and actual onboarding. It is important that the information is structured in a way that reflects the logic of end-users perspective. The webpage should be easy to navigate and high-quality SEOs should be used. The information on the website has to be regularly updated including the FAQ section which typically draws the highest traffic.
Goals
Improved access to information Better communication and cooperation Improved quality of service Improved visibility Increased enrollment and retention
Basic information
| Categories | Institutional Processes Promotion & Visibility |
|---|---|
| Mobility stages | Pre-arrival phase During mobility phase Pre-departure After-leaving Upon arrival |
| Delivery schedule | Continuous |
| Importance | Essential to have |
| Scale of organizational change |  |
| Target groups | PhD student/Early career researcher R2 - R4 researchers Lecturers (incl. Language Teachers) |
|---|---|
| Types of contracts of researchers | Full degree student Visiting scholar Employee in training (interns, research fellows, postdocs) |
| Career stages of researchers | Less than 6 months 6-12-months of experience 1-3-years of experience 3-10 years of experience 10-15 years of experience More than 15 years of experience |
| Lengths of stays of researchers | 0-3 months 3-6 months 6-12 months More than 12 months |
Practice setup
A well-structured website with quality content will significantly unburden the IRO staff. When setting up or improving your welcome website consider the following:
- Appoint a responsible person/ team to suggest topics and structure of the welcome page (e.g. based on the most frequently asked questions by international PhD students and academics), for instance (e.g., Guide for international researchers, Visa/ Residence permit, Working in a host country, Housing and Accommodation, Local language courses, Transportation, Family and Children, Social Events, Contacts, Useful links to external resources, etc)
- For inspiration, you can map welcome websites of other HEIs
- Liaise with the IT department for technical support and implementation of the website, suggestions for the most suitable SEO, and collapsible components enabling to well-structure the content.
- Fill in the content of the website, include also FAQ section that typically draws the highest traffic
- Prepare an evaluation form to validate the content of the website (structure of the content, easiness to navigate through, searchability, tone of the information, comprehensiveness of the information, open questions for improvement suggestions)
- Validate the website by the focus group comprising international PhD students and academics (currently staying at your HEI or who recently visited your HEI)
- The website will need a regular update.
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External Collaborations:
@All - they could be consulted when preparing the content of the website, especially regarding legislation-related matters and housing. The institutional welcome website should contain useful links to the official resources of national authorities and other external partners.
@EURAXESS portal - the national EURAXESS portal is a very good source of updated information on mobility-related topics. The HEI's welcome website should contain a reference to the portal.
Practice delivery
In the delivery phase, it is important to appoint a person(s) responsible for updating the content of the website. More feedback from the end-users (international PhD students and academics) should be collected. The improvement actions should be implemented accordingly.
If we are satisfied with the design, structure and content of our webpage, it will help us by linking to it with most of the question sent. It´s useful to list the webpage in promotion materials. The webpage should be managed by one authorized staff member who continously verifies the relevance and timeliness of the published information.
| Cost of practice delivery | |
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| Time required for practice delivery | |
| Personnel effort required for practice delivery | |
| Actors involved in practice delivery |
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| Partners involved in practice delivery |
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| Indicators for evaluating progress/quality of practice delivery |
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External Collaborations:
@All - they could be consulted when preparing the content of the website, especially regarding legislation-related matters. The institutional welcome website should contain useful links to the official resources of national authorities, and other external partners as well.
@EURAXESS portal - the national EURAXESS portal is a very good source of updated information on mobility-related topics. The HEI's welcome website should contain a reference to the portal.
Examples of practice
University of Tubingen - Welcome centre website
The website for international researchers coming to pursue their research at the University of Tubingen.
Welcome centre FAU
The webpage of the Welcome Centre of the FAU (Friedrich-Alexander-UniversitätErlangen-Nürnberg) focusing on service for international guest researchers and doctoral students contains the following categories: Advice and Sevices, Formalities, Accommodation, Family and Children, German language courses, External Services, Newsletter and Contact.