This could be a combination of a dictionary and glossary of the most common phrases and their definitions in English used in the academic and institutional life of the host institution/country. Special attention should be paid to country/region specific terms that have no actual parallel outside the host country/region, for instance, academic ranks and their hierarchy in the region of Central and South-Eastern Europe. It could be also extended by terms related to the administrative duties that need to be done shortly before or fight after arrival to or upon departure from the host country/institution. Such a tool would be of immense help to both international as well as local PhDs and academics struggling with proper vocabulary when talking to their colleagues.
Improved skills and knowledge Better communication and cooperation
Categories | Social Integration & Daily Life Language Support, Language Policy |
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Mobility stages | Pre-arrival phase During mobility phase Upon arrival |
Delivery schedule | Continuous |
Importance | Nice to have |
Scale of organizational change | ![]() |
Target groups | PhD student/Early career researcher R2 - R4 researchers Lecturers (incl. Language Teachers) |
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Types of contracts of researchers | Full degree student Permanent employee Visiting scholar |
Career stages of researchers | 6-12-months of experience 1-3-years of experience 3-10 years of experience |
Lengths of stays of researchers | 3-6 months 6-12 months More than 12 months |
When compiling the dictionary and glossary, the following steps should be taken:
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Time required for practice setup | ![]() |
Personnel effort required for practice setup | ![]() |
Actors involved in practice setup |
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Partners involved in practice setup |
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Indicators for evaluating progress/quality of practice setup |
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Internal Actors
@Language department, HR department - may help with the proofreading activities, preparing definitions of those country/region specific phrases
@ IT Department - may help with proposing optimal solutions for placement of the dictionary on the institutional website, deploying suitable SEO, or developing an app
External Collaborators
@ Other HEIs - other HEIs could join their forces and prepare the dictionary/glossary together, the final product can be shared.
@other external partners - can help with consultations regarding the accurate definition of certain administrative processes
Delivery activities are mainly connected with:
Challenges (factors to consider): Maybe it would be for the best if this dictionary existed as an app; that would make it instantly easier to update and upgrade when necessary.
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 Collaborators
@ Other HEIs - other HEIs could join their forces and prepare the dictionary/glossary together, the final product can be shared.
Purdue University has a whole section on its site dedicated to the common phrases used in academic writing, along with detailed explanations of what they mean. However, it is for writing only.
The University of Navarra has a whole page on its site dedicated to over 3000 academic expressions translated from Spanish into English, in an alphabetical order.
The glossary is a part of the Guide for International Employees (researchers, academics, support staff) coming for long-term employment at the Masaryk University in Brno.
Universities Norway (UHR) recommends that the suggested terms be used in the higher education sector to ensure a standardized terminology in both English and Norwegian. In English the UHR Termbase follows the Oxford University Press standard.
The UHR Termbase is for free public use. For translation of government administration job titles, the UHR Termbase follows the guidelines of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD).