IGDIR UNIVERSITY

ERASMUS POLICY STATEMENT (EPS)  

A)

Iğdır is a province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, located along the borders with Armenia, Azerbaijan (the area of Nakhchivan), and Iran. It occupies an area of 3,587 km² with population of 179,839. It has fruitful lands in a microclimate region where numerous vegetables and fruit cultivars are grown. Iğdır University founded in the year 2008 has about 70 academic staff and 2000 students with three faculties (agriculture, engineering, and theology) and two vocational schools (health services and Iğdır vocational schools). The aims of Iğdır University (IU) are to educate qualified students with analytical thinking and entrepreneurial capabilities, with the ability to conduct original researches in a variety of sciences; and to provide cohesion of different cultures, and to create social, cultural and scientific synergy within the context of Lifelong Learning Programme. As a first step, IU was awarded its standard Erasmus charter in 2009 in order to reach European standards and to follow improvements on Bologna process. In the context of Erasmus, IU aims:

• to increase the number of Erasmus partnerships within the frame of LLP.

• to promote all the projects on student and academic mobility in order to build a bridges among various cultures.

• to conduct multilateral projects with international universities, open to development in ethics, social, cultural, scientific topics in order to develop communication, leadership team-work skills of all the students and the ability to meet competitive academic standards.   

• to cooperate with successful European universities and private sector in the field of plant and animal breeding studies to form industrial facilities. The university contributes to public, private sector, and incoming students on agricultural topics such as soil, plant protection, horticulture, crop, and animal breeding. Thus, IU with all partnerships aim to develop new plants (resistant to salinity stress and pests) and new animal genotypes (with high yield and resistant against diseases and hard conditions). IU with European universities will investigate on hundreds of medicinal plants species available in Flora of Iğdır province which can be used for pharmaceutical purposes and be useful for human health.                   

IU that desires being an international university and interdisciplinary institution has been recognized through participating in EU Education and Training Programmes. By 2012, IU will have increased the number at least to 20 students and 20 teaching and administrative staff in education, student placement and staff training. All measures will be taken to attract more incoming students and visiting teaching staff. IU intends to participate in Grundtvig ann Leonardo da Vinci programmes to develop projects both on policy cooperation, innovation and on information and communication technologies through Lifelong Learning Programme.                   

B)

The first Erasmus Charter and Erasmus policy Statement (EPS) of IU will be published in its web site. IU will also be publishing presentations such as posters, booklets, leaflets, and newsletters on LLP prepared by each department. Information about LLP will be disseminated in announcement boards in all buildings and web site of our university. Close ties and partnerships with European Universities for quality assurance will be built to provide both socio-cultural exchanges and scientific improvements in IU. Our university will adapt to ECTS credit system in the context of Bologna process in order to the number of exchange students. For students interested in LLP, an international Erasmus student club will be established to allow them to follow Erasmus programme knowledge. One of the main targets of our university is to organize courses on other languages for both our own students and incoming students. For the students insufficient in English, compulsory English preparation courses will be arranged in IU, which plans to participate in a centralized Erasmus programme and to obtain required curricula developments in the context of LLP. IU strongly respects universal rights and cultural diversity, and appreciates gender equality and human resources policy. IU never allows xenophobic and racist activities. IU gives scholarships and grants to students living under average standard level in order to ensure social and economical balance among all the students. Building and facilities are designed in compliance with disabled staff and students. Moreover, IU is planning to do an integration project with European Universities for disabled staff and students.  

II. Quality of Academic Mobility Activities

Office of International Affairs (OIA) will prepare Learning agreements of incoming and outgoing students with great care. OIA confirms to be in compliance with the offices of partner universities about student and staff exchanges. Initially, the announcement of Erasmus programme by leaflets, posters, and specific seminars for all students, academic and administrative staff will be published in the official web site. Outgoing Erasmus students will select their courses with the advice and approval of their Erasmus coordinators and heads of department. Outgoing students will be awarded with a diploma supplement. OIA, dealing with application, arrival, and accommodation procedures, will send incoming students guidance and counseling along with promotional brochures of the home university before arrival. In order to be able to provide orientation for incoming students to IU,

•  OIA with its assistants and Erasmus Club Students (ECS) sincerely will welcome new incoming students. ECS will cooperate with the new students in any case.

•  OIA will publish leaflets containing descriptive information such as Traditional foods and life style of people living in Iğdır province.

•  OIA assists incoming students to select courses from ECTS guide and to consult their academic advisors.

•  With the receipt of their applications, rooms will be booked for incoming students at IU dormitory or OIA assistants will help the students to find housing.

•  OIA will facilitate each incoming student to have a student card, an e mail address, access to the student information system, health service and transcription at the end of the semester. Announcements, mobility, and exchanges will be activated on IU web site.

•  Turkish language courses will be offered for incoming students. Additionally, all the students will be required to attend foreign languages courses (English, French, German, and Italian), free of charges.

•  Erasmus club students will organize fun parties, travels, sport facilities periodically to integrate incoming students with ECS and voluntary students.

•  Incoming students can access to internet and scientific web sites (www.sciencedirect.com) in any time of day.      

III. Quality of student placement activities       

IU aims to obtain Extended Erasmus Charter so as to be able to enhance placement activities and Erasmus exchanges in the context of LLP. Students in student placements gain experiences practically and academically as a result of cooperation with partnerships, comprising of IU, private sector, and international European universities. Thus, each incoming and outgoing student will get benefits of training in different country will let them proceed for a better carrier. Several measures are taken to foster international cooperation and exchanges on placement activities: These are that;

•  To place incoming and outgoing students, IU aims to form consortiums with civil society organizations, chambers of commerce and industry for these students to obtain better position in future. Also, all the parties will be provided to be interested in needs of the students.  

•  Projects on human rights, violence, and social responsibility will be organized with many partners.  

•  Agreements will be made to enforce cooperation between IU, public, private sector, and international participants.

• Each person is allowed to create his curricula suitable to his own personnel and carrier goals in the frame of student and teaching staff mobility. The announcement of Erasmus programme by leaflets, posters, and specific seminars for all students, academic and administrative staff will be published in the official web site of our university.

•  At every stage, informative seminars for outgoing students before and after selection process will be given in detail in the context of Erasmus cooperation projects.

• Upper class or experienced students (on Erasmus program) for easily ensuring orientation of incoming students will be assigned as mentor. That is, a better orientation in the context of student mobility for placements will be for incoming students with body system.

•  IU aims to sign placement contracts eligible for candidates in parties.

•  Incoming students will be given visibility to historical sites in the closest distance to Iğdır province.

•  IU will provide a link between private sector and incoming & outgoing students. In the frame of student mobility for placements, incoming students will be introduced with local private sector to gain practical and technical experiences on agriculture and food industry. Additionally, incoming students relating to Animal Science department with IU students will be trained with professional managers of Kazım Karabekir State farm, Iğdır where 16000 farm animals (sheep and cattle with different breeds) are organically reared.   

• IU intends to form a database including announcements and requests of firms on agriculture and food industry which desire interns with its placement partners.