Social integration, in a narrow sense, may refer mainly to socio-cultural integration enabling the creation of personal connections/networking of international PhD students/researchers/academics, and their family members with their local and other international doctoral and academic fellows. In a broader context, it covers also other integration activities like finding a proper place for living, opportunities for career development, language learning, smooth access to the labour market and education to family members, access to health care, etc. However, also handling all the administrative issues related to relocation (residence permits, health/social insurance, tax, vehicle registration, pets, etc.) in smooth, clear procedures helps a lot for better navigation in the new setting. Being comfortable with the local environment may be substantial to the overall PhD/academics' performance.
Often international welcome centres or one-stop shops established by local/regional/national authorities or associations of several HEIs/research organisations in the city can take over many of the mentioned responsibilities, provide services in a structured manner for a critical mass of clients, promote the city/region efficiently, organise various events about life in the country/city, provide labour-market orientation and dual-career counseling services, offer domestic language courses, etc.
Here we focus on listing possible partners for collaborations to provide more advanced and higher quality services and a broader portfolio of them. Practical steps on how to establish them are also briefly drafted. Although establishing collaborations with numerous external partners might seem a laborious effort, such synergies might bring fruit in clearer/more detailed guidelines, databases, shared responsibilities, better information flow, and even saved human/financial resources.
Better communication and cooperation Improved quality of service Support mental health and wellbeing Improved access to information Improved procedure/efficiency Increased enrollment and retention Enhanced safety and security Social integration Improved visibility
Categories | Social Integration & Daily Life Family Matters Networking Language Support, Language Policy Accommodation Safety, Healthcare & Wellbeing Administrative & Legal Support Social security, Health Insurance, Taxation Institutional Processes Promotion & Visibility Visa, Residence & Work Permit Profesional & Academic Development Institutional strategy |
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Mobility stages | During mobility phase Institutional setup |
Delivery schedule | Continuous |
Importance | Important to have |
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Target groups | PhD student/Early career researcher R2 - R4 researchers Lecturers (incl. Language Teachers) Internationals spouses/family members |
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Types of contracts of researchers | Full degree student Visiting scholar Employee in training (interns, research fellows, postdocs) Fixed term employee Exchange student Permanent employee |
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 |
Lengths of stays of researchers | 3-6 months 6-12 months More than 12 months |
Newly arrived international PhD. students and academics/researchers are in need of provided information and assistance, especially about 1. Registration duties at official authorities, 2. Accommodation, 3. Family settlement - seeking schools/pre-school facilities, job for a spouse, free-time activities, clubs, 4. Health care - finding general practitioners, specialists, paediatricians, dentists; 5. Efficient local travel/parking policies, 6. Local language understanding/speaking, 6. Socialising - building the local network of peers (colleagues, friends, diaspora community), 7. Other after-arrival administrative issues, 8. Further career and professional growth.
To facilitate the speed and scale of integration into everyday life, it is worthy to cooperate with local partners to create synergies and cost-effective approaches. As a result, a broad mix of services enabling both fast and long-term settlement might be designed. Although other practices go into detail of providing hints on the particular assistance (esp. Customised assistance: visa & residence permit, Customised assistance: work-related issues, Customised assistance in offering accommodation, Customised assistance: social integration and daily life issues, Networking events for international PhD students and academics/researchers, Networking events for family members), this practice shall provide an overview of various possibilities of collaborations and suggest basic steps for their establishment.
Integration activity | Possible collaborators | Possible outputs |
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Registrations and understanding regulations (residence, health/social insurance, tax) |
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Accommodation - If HEI accommodation capacities are not sufficient |
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Schools/pre-school facilities |
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Job seeking for spouses |
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Health care |
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Local travel/parking |
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Local language learning - in case this service cannot be provided by the HEI via internal resources |
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Socialising/Networking |
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Other administrative issues (driving licence, pets, number plate of imported car, bank) - collaborations on demand especially in case of occurring challenges |
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Career development for academics/PhD graduates/researchers |
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One-stop-shops at local/regional level |
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When you plan to establish strategic partnerships and effective collaborations consider the following steps
Challenges to consider:
Securing social integration of international PhD students/researchers/academics may be quite demanding for the resources of one single institution, therefore it is important to seek local synergies and establish strategic partnerships and effective collaborations (within respective local contexts - institutions/cities/regions) and thus saving budget and working power, creating critical mass in terms of the number of international PhD students and academics on a local/regional level for effective activities and buddy system, and last but not least creating new ideas/develop activities together.
Due to current pandemic developments, preventive measures, and possible future trends, more and more events and activities will have to be pursued in an online or at least hybrid format. There will be a higher need for trainings of HEIs support staff to efficiently deliver activities and services in online formats.
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Internal Actors
@Rector's Office/ Vice-Rector for international relations, especially in decentralized universities with numerous faculties, the top management bodies may initiate/support setting up a dedicated office/welcome centre at the central level that could provide comprehensive support services and personal assistance to incoming academics, including organizing various social events. The office may provide support to individual faculty IROs, keep in touch with external partners and manage external collaborations. The top management representatives are also crucial for buiding up new partnerships and negotiating official collaborations.
@IRO/welcome centre - central role in coordinating/managing the collaborations with external partners.
@Erasmus Student Network (ESN)/ buddy programme - in coordination with IRO offices, the local Erasmus Student Network, besides supporting international Bc/Master degree students, can provide a basis/inspiration for support also to incoming international PhD students and academics to adjust to the new environment and facilitate smooth social integration.
@HEI Career Centre can establish collaborations with companies, and local chambers of commerce which can be also relevant for internationals spouses (dual-career service). They can set up a networking programme matching PhD. students and company employees, enabling PhD. students to join site visits to the participating companies, get introduced to the companies, and have opportunities to network with companies.
@all other internal units/departments - they might be involved based on the specific area of collaboration developed. However, it is essential to think of respective internal departments/units that could be counterparts/experts at the side of the HEI for any developed collaboration.
External collaborators - only selected major ones
@Other HEIs/research organizations in city/region/interregional consortium of universities - local networking is essential for the support of international PhD students and academics. They may join their forces and use the resources more efficiently to create a so-called " one-stop-shop" and plan and offer a joint " Welcome Service", especially, if also smaller institutions are involved. Apart from providing relocation-related information and assistance to incoming internationals, they can also organise joint welcome and other social networking events or even create one mixing place leading to effective networking between local and international PhD students and academics. Locally organized activities have proved to facilitate the integration into a new social community.
@Municipality/City Council - many municipalities have set up a welcome centre providing information, assistance and counselling to all foreigners coming to study, work and live in the area. They run council housing or their own databases of accommodation offers. Negotiations and a partnership with a municipality might secure some accommodation within the council housing. It can be also involved in social networking events, and provide the city/region promotion-related materials in English (e.g, brochures, city/local travel (discount) cards, and a website with various cultural events held in the city/region). City council representatives (ideally, the mayor) could have a welcome speech at the Welcome event. The City council can also promote various events for families (Christmas markets, cultural programmes, summer cultural events, voluntary activities for better social integration of spouses, cultural events where internationals from different countries can present their culture, sports activities (runs), etc). The municipality can also provide a venue/premises for cultural events or talks where also international PhD students and academics could be invited and actively involved in programme (talks, public discussion forum).
See also the actors in delivery for further inspiration.
Turn the collaborations into practical activities for international PhDs/academics and their family members:
In practical delivery of those services Buddy/guide system (voluntary university students/staff members helping internationals get into the social life of the institution, city, or region) might be helpful (see also the practice Welcome buddy/guide for international PhD students, academics and researchers)
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@EURAXESS centre typically provides a wide portfolio of integration services, organises some kind of social events for incoming PhD students/academics/researchers. EURAXESS members also have expertise in mobility-related as well as career development topics and can be invited as guest speakers at various events. It can also promote various events via the national EURAXESS portal and dedicated social media.
@Tourist information office/board in cooperation with IROs can provide materials and professional guides for the guided city tour, during pandemic many of them have prepared virtual city tours, and videos (also in English, or at least with English subtitles) that can be recommended to incoming international students and academics.
@Local ex-pat centre - in several cities ex-pat centres organise welcome events for all internationals on a regular basis, they also organise lectures, seminars on various topics of interest relevant to internationals, inviting internationals to speak and share their experience, or run domestic language cources.
@IOM Migration information office organises regular webinars on various migration-related topics, and relevant legislation changes offers free language courses for third-country nationals. IOM representatives can be also invited as experts to various events. The IOM legal team can be consulted regarding complicated visa/residence permit issues.
@Local NGOs that are assisting foreigners with an integration process through various volunteering programmes, and educational and networking activities (e.g., Mareena in Slovakia).
The DRESDEN-concept research alliance was founded in 2010 and currently comprises 33 research institutions, including TU Dresden and local institutions of the Max Planck Society, the Leibniz Association, the Helmholtz Association, and the Fraunhofer Society, as well as renowned, cultural institutions that conduct research.
The mission of DRESDEN-concept is to strengthen cooperation among its partner institutions and identify and exploit synergies in research, teaching, infrastructure, and administration. This is also illustrated by the acronym DRESDEN, which stands for Dresden Research and Education Synergies for the Development of Excellence and Novelty. Examples include identifying and coordinating research priorities, jointly attracting top staff and talents, or the joint use of resources. An integral part of the Dresden concept is a Welcome Centre hosted by the TU Dresden providing a comprehensive portfolio of services to international PhD students, researchers, academics, and their family members (assisting with relocation, administrative duties, accommodation, social integration activities, buddy guide assistance, etc).
By networking across institutional and subject boundaries, DRESDEN-concept offers researchers an ideal environment for science and innovation. The physical proximity of the partners, the sustainable use of infrastructures within the alliance, and the establishment of joint research priorities make Dresden an outstanding location for science.
TU Dresden and its partner institutions are on their way to jointly further develop the Dresden science hub towards a DRESDEN-concept Science and Innovation Campus.
4 institutions (the University of Tartu, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu Municipality, and Estonian Ministry of Culture) joined their forces to create a Tartu Welcome Centre to provide support to all foreigners coming to Tartu to settle in. The centre provides assistance with relocation, provides free consultations, assistance with registry services, organises cultural and networking events, collaborates with several real-estate agencies to help with finding proper accommodation for incoming foreigners, etc.
Non-profit associative initiative promoted by the Provincial Government of Bizkaia in collaboration with a group of universities and major companies with a clear mission: to foster and facilitate the implementation of the necessary conditions for attracting, connecting, and retaining in Bilbao, the Historic Territory of Bizkaia and the Basque Country in general, highly qualified people in the areas of knowledge and innovation.
The Biskaia Talent offers networking opportunities for international talent coming to the region, relocation assistance, dual career services, Financial Aid Programme, based on collaboration with local companies publishes and promotes jobs for highly qualified internationals, professional support services, fairs and other events.
4 HEIs/research institutions and South Moravian Region joined their forces and created a Support Service centre for all foreigners coming to the South Moravian region (Brno) in the Czech Republic. The centre is funded by the Czech Ministry of education. It offers assistance with visa & residence permit, accommodation, banking, health insurance, medical care, children & family, Czech culture and language, and social
events as well as with career development. When it comes to residence permit application the centre arranges group appointments at the local Immigration Office with the aim to facilitate the residence permit procedure.
The International House Copenhagen is a "one-stop-shop" specialising in the reception and retention of international talent. The objective of the house is to provide international newcomers with the best possible start to life in Greater Copenhagen by giving them the comfort of a one-point entry. It provides registration services, organises events, informs on culture and leisure activities in Copenhagen and the vicinity, offers a wide range of job and career programs for international citizens living in many municipalities in Greater Copenhagen, and provides assistance with relocation. All the services are free of charge.