Bilingual campus signs (English and local language)
The use of bilingual signage at key university areas creates an internationally welcoming environment by facilitating orientation and access to main university sites and helping international students and staff navigate the campus.
Goals
Improved access to information Better communication and cooperation Improved visibility
Basic information
| Categories | Social Integration & Daily Life Safety, Healthcare & Wellbeing Promotion & Visibility |
|---|---|
| Mobility stages | During mobility phase Upon arrival |
| Delivery schedule | Continuous |
| Importance | Important to have |
| Scale of organizational change |  |
| Target groups | PhD student/Early career researcher R2 - R4 researchers Lecturers (incl. Language Teachers) Administrative staff Management staff |
|---|---|
| Types of contracts of researchers | Full degree student Permanent employee Visiting scholar Employee in training (interns, research fellows, postdocs) Fixed term employee Exchange student |
| 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
The installation of bilingual signage could be supported by a respective communications and visibility policy. Such policy provides guidance on where signage is to be bilingual in English and local language and how the two languages could be treated on this signage.
Specifically, the following issues need be clarified in the related policy:
- Staff involved in all stages of the signage process (e.g. Communications and Marketing; Estates and Buildings)
- Type of external signage (i.e. signage on the exterior of a building which designates the building's name, address or what it contains)
- Type of internal signage (i.e. signage on the interior of a building which designates the building's name or function of a main desk, tailored to each site)
- Location of signage (i.e. key areas identified for bilingual signage) (e.g. reception desks, libraries, dormitories)
- Appearance of signage (e.g. prominence of two languages, style)
- Responsibility for compliance and translation
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Description of collaboration
Practice delivery
The production and installation of bilingual signage could be organised internally or outsourced to an external service provider.
The responsible staff is advised to monitor the use of bilingual signage by international students and staff via regular short polls and introduce changes (e.g. in terms of desired location of bilingual signs).
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