INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY
Internationalisation is one of the priorities defined in EKA development strategy. The key objective is to enhance EKA international competitiveness by promoting students and academic staff mobility, strengthening international cooperation, involving foreign academic staff in the study process and supporting integration of international students into university life, thus contributing to the internationally recognized brand of the university and providing high quality multicultural learning environment.
The vision of EKA internationalisation: EKA is an internationally competitive and recognised, science-based and innovation-oriented higher education institution that:
- atttracts internationally recognised and qualified employees to perform scientific and academic activities;
- ensures multicultural environment to support students’ and staff competitiveness both in the local and international labour markets;
- is a place for globally-known international research and academic events;
- actively cooperates with other universities, institutions and employers in Latvia and beyond in academic, research and creative activities.
EKA main goals stated in Internationalisation and Modernization Strategy - IMS2028 are:
- To support EKA staff and students’ excellence by providing opportunities and motivating to participate in international mobility
- To establish the multicultural environment at EKA to ensure “internationalisation at home”
- To enhance the quality of the study process at EKA by attracting internationally recognized and qualified teachers to perform academic activities
- To support tolerance and diversity in the classroom by providing opportunities to develop intercultural and social communication skills among students and staff
- To raise awareness about environmental and climate-change challenges among students and staff and increase interest in social entrepreneurship in the field of circular economy and environment protection
- To promote civic engagement and active citizenship among students and staff
- To increase digital and research competences of EKA students and staff
- To promote the implementation of innovative teaching methods into the study process
- To increase the relevance of curricula by strengthening the cooperation with employers and providing problem-based learning and offering international mobility.
- To increase the number of programmes and study cources taught in English
- To increase international recognition of EKA and raise its reputational value in the academic and scientific environment
- To strengthen the existing and to expand the cooperation with other universities, institutions and employers in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America in the field of research and creative activities
- To enhance the quality of research process at EKA by attracting internationally recognised and qualified researchers to perform scientific activities
IMS2028 goals are aligned with the priorities of the Erasmus+ Programme:
- Inclusion and diversity
- Digital transformation
- Participation in democratic life
- Environment and fight against climate change
INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
2024 – 2025: FIFA scholarship in carrying out the research project “Globalization of Football – The Emergence of Baltic Football League and Legal Analysis of Governance Practices for Success”.
2022 - 2024: Erasmus+ KA2 program - Cooperation within project “Boosting Circular Economy Competences for STEM Teachers” (Circular STEM)”
2022 - 2024: Erasmus+ KA2 program - Cooperation within project “Blended Learning and Evaluation Practices for Inclusive Digital Higher Education” (BENEFIT)
2022 - 2024: Within the framework of the EIT HEI Initiative - project "Building Forward Better’ ecosystems - Harnessing the power of networked communities to scale-up and accelerate the impact of entrepreneurial universities – Network IQ Alliance"
2021 - 2024: Within the framework of the Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic partnership program - project „Development of a virtual learning space as a tool for developing students′ critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity skills in the context of COVID19” (VILESA)
2021 - 2024: Within the framework of the Erasmus+ CBHE program - project „Advancing circular economy in partner countries by development and implementation of Master programme "Waste management" (UnWaste)
2019 - 2022: project „Accelerating ICT students′ start-up development competence via interdisciplinary modular courses in the HEI curricula” (UXiship)
2017 – 2020: project „Online Master Programme for Circular Economy” (CIRCECO)
2017 – 2018: project „Strategic Partnership for Innovation and Development of Entrepreneurship” (SPIDE)
2017 – 2019: project “Partnership to develop VET educators in event management with learner-centred approach” (InVent)
2017 – 2019: project „Promoting E-Learning for Adults to Improve Quality and Availability of Life-Long Education”
2015 – 2016: project "Innovative Strategic Partnership for European Higher Education” (ISPEHE)
INTERNATONAL ACADEMIC WEEK (IAW)
On April 21-25, 2025, EKA University of Applied Sciences and Alberta College organizes an International Academic Week 2025!
EKA University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with Alberta College invites academic staff from educational institutions to participate in the International Academic Week (IAW2025), which will take place in Riga on April 21-25, 2025.
International Academic Week is an academic event organized to encourage internationalization of the study process at the EKA University of Applied Sciences and Alberta College. It will be a great opportunity for students to improve their ability to acquire knowledge and communicate in the international environment.
Contact information:
EKA Erasmus+ coordinator Marina Tihomirova
erasmus@eka.edu.lv
IAW2025 coordinator, dr.oec. Jevgenija Dehtjare
jevgenija.dehtjare@eka.edu.lv
Vice Rector for Science and International Relations, Prof. Jelena Titko
jelena.titko@eka.edu.lv
STAFF TRAINING WEEK (STW)
ERASMUS+ STAFF TRAINING WEEK (STW) 2024
The ERASMUS+ EKA STW2024 International Staff Training Week, hosted by EKA University of Sciences in cooperation with European Digital Learning Network (www.dlearn.eu) brought together 19 participants from various EU countries, including Austria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Turkey. Supported by the EKA Scientific Institution, the event named “Designing and Writing Successful European Projects with Artificial Intelligence” aimed to enhance HEIs staff′s (researchers, project managers, representatives of international relations etc) project writing skills.
Throughout the week, participants engaged in a series of enriching activities, leaded by Gianluca Coppola, President and Founder of the European Digital Learning Network including followed lectures and seminars:
- Myths and Facts About Chat GPT: how to use smartly AI for writing and managing EU projects
- Prompt Literacy: How to create effective prompts to get the best results from the AI’s model
- Responsible Use of Chat GPT
- Writing with Chat GPT: how we can engage with the AI to improve the quality of our contents
- Developing Winning Grant Proposal by the AI tools
- Writing Winning Grant - The Implementation
STW2024 OUTCOMES
The week culminated with the co-working day, when the participants got an opportunity to write a new brand project using the AI and the notions learnt.
The week also included social activities, such as Riga city tour, the visit to the Black Heads House Museum and the gala dinner in the Michelin Guide recommended hotel and restaurant “Neiburgs”.
Looking forward to see you in Riga at STW2025!
STW2024 coordinator:
Jevgenija Dehtjare, Dr.oec., EKA Head of the Development of the Scientific Institution
e-mail: jevgenija.dehtjare@eka.edu.lv
phone: +371 22 541 338
