Mobility data collection and management
Collecting and managing data about mobility could significantly affect the quality of the institutional process related to assisting mobile researchers and internationalization in general. It produces a body of evidence for strategic decision-making, facilitates smooth and effective communication with mobile researchers, provides a framework for a flow of activities related to assistance, and improves the efficiency and productivity of the service center.
- Basic level: Creating a Mobility info sheet (Xls/word file) enabling the contact person to fill in all the relevant data on an incoming PhD student/academic and share it across all the relevant departments involved (IRO, HR, Accommodation department, Library, IT center) before his/her arrival. For details see the example Mobility Data Infosheet.
- Intermediate level: Simple central online application enabling an inviting person/department to enter all the parameters on incoming PhD/academic prior to his/her stay, sending out an auto-generated welcome email with information and access to all university services (online library, pass/card, other electronic services before the arrival of incoming.
- Advanced level: Central comprehensive IT mobility system/database with advanced functionalities regarding task management/work division among support staff members, personal information of incoming, pop-up notification of new arrivals, details on visa/residence procedure, health insurance, reminder of expiry dates of various documents (visa, residence permit, hosting agreement, etc), expected services and interest in social events, information of accompanying family members and their needs, email invitation generation, overview of all the emails sent via the database, indicator of completeness of case, statistics, etc.
Goals
Improved access to information Improved quality of service Improved procedure/efficiency
Basic information
| Categories | Administrative & Legal Support Institutional Processes Institutional strategy |
|---|---|
| Mobility stages | Pre-arrival phase During mobility phase Pre-departure Upon arrival |
| Delivery schedule | Continuous |
| Importance | Important to have |
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| Target groups | Administrative staff Management staff |
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Practice setup
- Making a strategic decision to implement a process of collecting and managing mobility data. This decision must take into account all the expected strategic outcomes, including quality management and improvement, quality of service, etc.
- Designing the meta-model - answering which data the organization would like to collect. This depends on the expected outcomes. For example, if the quality of service is a goal, user satisfaction is important and thus related data will be collected. Check out the meta-model of the EURAXESS Services App in the examples of good practices.
- Deciding on the level of process embedment. Will management continuously use and interact with data? Are approvals on some procedures needed? What kind of reports will be beneficial for the management process?
- Deciding on the level of interaction. Will this data be populated by the researcher himself/herself? In which way, how frequent and how formal this interaction will be? This decision will significantly affect the complexity of the system needed and may also open the road to implementing conventional Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.
- Collect experiences of external stakeholders - other similar organizations and analyze the similarities between needs, and methodologies for implementation. Organize interviews with persons in charge and those who use the system in those organizations. In case the relevant ministry or agency collects data about mobility, work on aligning the processes and ensuring interoperability.
- Define a clear list of requirements for the system/application
- Implement the system/application for data collection and management by using your internal capacity or by engaging with external contractors.
- Setup testing and validation process and act on the feedback by customizing the implemented prototype
- Train your staff to use the system/process
- Start the process.
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Description of collaboration
@Other HEI/research organizations may be already implementing/running the process of mobility data collection. Set up a conversation in which you could learn from them and analyze a fit of the expected outcomes and measures to assure them.
@Ministry of Education/Science/Research may be running the process of mobility data collection. Work with them to align two processes and ensure interoperability.
Practice delivery
- On receiving a query by the researcher, add data about it in the system. Manage all relevant information about assisting the researchers for the specific query.
- Implement periodical reporting process.
- Analyse the meta-data model and update it periodically if neccessary.
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Examples of practice
EURAXESS Digital Assistant
Majority of work of one service centre offering assistance to incoming researchers is repetitive and related to very limited number of common questions, issues and problems. With advance in Artificial Intelligence, automatic responses to those questions become possible even through human-like interaction with so-called intelligent bots, or chatbots.
EURAXESS Serbia has implemented a chatbot - EURAXESS Digital Assistant that answers to questions related to entering country, requesting visa, registering limited liability company, opening bank account, requesting work permit and requesting residence permit. The answers are the list of required documents/activities for fulfiling some of the intents above. The bot is capable to directly personalize this list by engaging in conversation whose goal is to get some additional information about the intent that is relevant for building the list of required documents.
Mini CRM system for collecting data about mobility - EURAXESS Services App
EURAXESS Services App is application is multi-user, multi-role, simple CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system which enables the employees of the EURAXESS Service Centers and Local Contact Points to manage and track data about assistance provided to researchers.
The app is capable to collect the following information about the individual assistance case:
- The current situation of a researcher who asked for assistance - incoming, returning, outgoing or resident.
- What is the topic of his/her request for assistance - Accommodation, entry conditions, family, etc. It is possible to select more than one topic for one entry. That way, individual data for each of the selected topics will be created.
- Full list of topics:
- Accommodation
- Career development
- Daycare, schooling, and family
- Daily life (incl. banking, driver's license, health care, etc)
- Departure formalities
- Dual career/ partner support
- Funding opportunities
- Intellectual property rights
- Job opportunities
- Language courses and cultural integration
- Pension
- Recognition of diplomas
- Social security and insurances (health insurance, unemployment benefits, etc.)
- Taxation and salaries
- Entry conditions (visas, residence permit, etc.)
- Work permits
- Workplace formalities (access to facilities, WiFi, libraries, etc)
- Full list of topics:
- How did/will employee respond to his/her request - shortly, by 'signpost' him/her or giving the actual information/advice immediately, or its more complicated than that – it is needed to get back to him/her later to check for personalized response. Also, it is possible to register the organized event/training.
- If it’s needed/relevant, it is possible to add a note, especially if data is saved as a draft and employee will come back to it later.
More than 90 organizations are currently using the EURAXESS Services App.
Mobility data infosheet
The Dresden Concept's online mobility data info sheet is to be filled in by a host institution as a part of the Assignment for the Support of an incoming researcher. The mobility data info sheet is also available in pdf format.