Escuela de Arte de Granada Erasmus Policy Statement

ERAMUS POLICY STATEMENT 2021-2027

The Granada School of Art (EAG), with an academic pathway of 150 years and about 750 students, offers a wide and multidisciplinary artistic and professional education, from artistic high school studies to higher artistic vocational training and upper degrees in design studies.

Granada is a multicultural city. Our educational centre, located in the heart of the city, coexists daily with people arriving from all over the world. It is an old institution engaged by the process of opening up abroad by incorporating innovation and technology.

Since Granada School of Art was awarded the ECHE, we have worked on the fulfilment of our internationalization and modernization strategy. Our institution and the studies we offer have particular characteristics, due to the practical and theoretical methodology of the Art Education. For this reason, we work hard to achieve cooperation with educational and business institutions to contribute to our full integration into a European environment.

Our educational project promotes an education for equal personal, school and professional opportunities, without discrimination of any ideological, religious, social, racial, sexual orientation and gender identity, building at all times co-educational and tolerant values. Each student, at the end of her/his studies, must achieve a harmonious and competitive development of her/his intellectual, affective, ethical, social and especially artistic dimensions; based on her/his initial knowledge and valuing, in all cases, the personal effort and work developed by her/him. The EAG adhere to all the Erasmus Charter principles, ensuring proper visibility of these commitments (through the website and the Erasmus+ EAG Blog) and guaranteeing equal opportunities for all members of the educational community.

To achieve these goals, the EAG has developed an extensive program of international activities, including participation in International Forums for Design and Innovation, the participation in European Educational Projects with Schools of Arts, the participation in international projects in collaboration with the Andalusian Legacy Foundation  or with the project  “Living and Feeling the Heritage”. Collaboration agreements have been reached with Art Education centres from European countries and international institutions related with design and art and also with european companies from different countries for professional training for our students.

The EAG promotes educational innovation and entrepreneurial culture, organizing courses and meetings regularly with teachers and professionals in the field of design and artistic creation.

In 2018 we created an International Programs Department, with two people addressing this expansion of The ECHE with the determined intention of achieving excellence in practices. The institution's management team strongly supports its development to increase competitiveness, quality and excellence in teaching, research and innovation. The EAG has created a strongly and inclusive European outlook which qualify young professionals for the integration into the labor market. The European outlook is developed from the last 20 years, through projects with other European centres. Our purpose has been to find companies and educational centres that guarantee the best learning adapted to the specific teachings of our students.

The implementation of the Bologna process through Fashion and Graphic Design Upper Degrees has been one of the strategic goals of the School in the EHEA framework and we are still in the process of consolidating these design Degrees. Activities such as Design Week, which attracts specialists in areas such as Graphic Design, Fashion Design or Interior Design, have helped to create an atmosphere of creativity and exchange of ideas in line with the spirit of innovation we pursue.

We have welcomed students and teachers from other institutions within KA1 action, and also our students and teachers have carried out learning experiences in various European countries, through the different projects we are developing. In all cases, the result has been successful, and has generated cooperative relationships beyond the strict period of training.

Mobility has changed the lives of our students and teachers. They have established new professional and personal relationships. Their perspectives on their environment have changed, and they have acquired tools to improve their professional development. They have gained new skills and expanded their horizons. These results convince us that the Erasmus+ project is infinitely beneficial to our institution.

For all these reasons, the Erasmus Programme has proved crucial in the modernization of our institution and in the fulfilment of its pedagogical objectives. Some samples of these changes are:

1. The improvement of the quality of curricula. The professional approach in the classroom, not only focused on a close environment, but open to job opportunities at the international level because of the improvement in language skills by our students.
2. A higher participation of students and staff within the Erasmus Programme. Our teachers show more interest to carry out cooperation activities with other institutions.
3. The increase and development of international cooperation projects and new educational agreements with different geographical areas due to the demand for mobility, which is increasing progressively, taking into account that our student ratio is reduced.
4. Advice on studies and professional training abroad, increasing attendance at information actions and frequent enquiries about the Erasmus+ project.
5. Managing the international mobility of students, teachers and administrative staff with ensuring high quality, equity and transparency in the management of all mobility actions. This benefits the effective incorporation into the professional environment of a large number of students. 

We have reached important achievements, but we still have a long way to go. In our strategy of improvement for internationalization and modernization, we set objectives added to our ECHE Chart. We believe that, with its implementation, we will contribute to the accomplishment of the European Education Area. These objectives for the period 2021-2027 are:

1. Generating in our students and teachers a strong sense of their identity as Europeans, of Europe's cultural heritage and its diversity, through:

-         More effective and permanent information on Erasmus+ actions. We intend to create in our students and teachers the absolute willingness to carry out part of their learning or research abroad.

-         Participation in European projects, seminars, activities and proposals.

-         Promoting the integration of European cultural heritage into the classroom.

-         Promoting the use of the Europass documents.

-         Working together with students and academic staff on joint projects to develop good learning and teaching, undertake excellent research and promote innovation and open resources.

-         Using/developing of new multimedia resources, online cooperative work with our partner institutions, creating open educational resources, virtual mobility ...

-         Helping them in the use of tools that help decision-making such as U-Multirank.

-         Training in digital skills and transversal skills, as a tool to enrich teaching and support personalised learning.

-         Involvement of the organisation of the centre, the different departments and the whole staff, in the promotion of the Erasmus+ Programme.

2. Inside our clear strategy for internationalisation we will try to establish a greater number of quality contacts with educational institutions and companies, related to the artistic sector and the educational offer of our institution. We encourage cooperation with institutions by participating in projects related to our teachings and learnings by reaching cooperation agreements, trying to increase the number and quality of inter institutional agreements every year.

3. Achieving the implementation of new Erasmus+ KA1 projects, trying to guarantee the sustainability over time of the different Erasmus projects undertaken and to promote them properly. We are decided to create trustworthy associates networks for wide ranging projects to transfer of innovation and knowledge and to improve the internationalization and visibility of our institution. The EAG is open to expand the key actions under which we work with a view to improving our objectives within our internationalization strategy in a flexible way, and, depending on the institutional agreements that are reached, taking into account the possibility of requesting a Strategic Association in Higher Education with the Erasmus+ KA203 projects.

4. Implementing information regarding the cooperation with institutions on our website and Erasmus+ EAG Blog in order to provide all the necessary information in the incoming or outgoing mobilities that are carried out, creating a database of European companies with which contacts have been established, where our students can find professional opportunities once their studies are finished, and also promoting the diverse cooperation actions carried out by our staff in their international mobilities.

5. Integrating Erasmus+ cooperation into our Coexistence and Equality Plans activities.

6. Working together with the Department of Cultural Extension and Artistic Promotion to create proposals which strengthen the spirit of European cooperation within the Erasmus Programme or another EU Projects.

7. Participating in activities related to the Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ projects in which we have a place, such as the Digital Opportunity traineeships initiative. Through them, we aim to contribute to the digital development of our centre.

8. Improving the information and communication of our actions, through our new social media accounts and through the updating and improvement of our website and the Erasmus+  Project Results Platform. We will continue the active maintenance of current media, such as the web and Erasmus+ EAG Blog and the sending of press releases and interventions in local media, social networks and different platforms to promote and publicize the activities carried out within the Erasmus+ programme throughout a dissemination plan.

9. Achieving, through our communication actions, a greater flow of students towards our institution who participate in the Erasmus Programme and going on to facilitate the participation of staff in different mobilities. This will allow and renew methodologies and knowledge, foster interchange, cooperation and future mobility of other students and teachers.

10. Strengthening language learning to all EAG community in order to support that more students and staff lose the fear of practicing and improving a foreign language that allows them to carry out an Erasmus mobility with sufficient guarantees.

11. Promoting our policy of helping disadvantaged students complete higher education, with special attention to students with special needs or with fewer opportunities.

12. Working on the automatic recognition of credits and qualifications. Using the European Qualifications Framework, the European Credit Transfer System and Europass documents.

13. Encouraging the use of the European Student Card.

14. Constant self-assessment of the entire process of implementation of Erasmus+ projects carried out at the EAG, in order to detect improvement needs and be able to solve them. This will serve to provide quality support within the key actions of the Erasmus+ programme as a higher education institution.

We believe that the impact generated by this program is very beneficial for all components of our educational community and generates positive results in the acquisition of new skills in students, teachers and staff that will receive students and incoming staff in return, promoting integration, cohesion and intercultural learning. Therefore, we are fully convinced of the multiple benefits of continuing to participate in it, which also contributes to the modernization of our institution.

The EAG Erasmus+ Policy Statement and the Erasmus Charter Principles will be displayed prominently on our HEI website.

ERASMUS POLICY STATEMENT 2014-2020

The School of Arts of Granada (EAG), with an accademic pathway of 150 years and about 800 students, offers a wide and multidisciplinary artistic and professional education. 

EAG has created a strongly and inclusive European outlook which qualify young professionals for incorporation into the business world. The European outlook is deleloped from the last 20 years, through projects with other European centers.

The implementation of the Bologna process through Fashion and Graphic designs Degrees has been one of the strategic goals of the School in the EHEA framework. The EAG has 10 high level vocational training courses of Photography, Illustration, Interior design, Engraving and printmaking, Sculpture techniques, Gilding, silver plating and polycrhomising, Comic, Animated Films, Ceramics and Textile art. In addition to 5 VET Cycles of Enamelling, Jewellery, Forging, Artistic wooden reproductions, Artistic reproductions in stone and Islamic ornamentation, the studies of which are only taught in our center throughout Europe.

The EAG proposes the following objectives according to its international strategy:

1. To continue to improve the quality of curricula.
2. To use the Erasmus Charter to promote and encourage the participation of students, teachers and administrative staff within the Erasmus Programme.
3. To continue and increase the development of international cooperation projects.
4. To coordinate educational agreements with different geographical areas.
5. To foster agreements with government agencies.
6. To advice on studies and profesional training abroad.
7. To manage the mobility of students, teachers and administrative staff.
8. To ensure high quality and transparency in the management of all mobility actions.

The EAG will adhere to all the Erasmus Charter principles, ensuring proper visibility of these commitments (through the website and the Erasmus Blog) and guaranteeing equal opportunities for all members of the educational community.

The EAG works for the coordination and development of the Erasmus Programme, with the creation of an International Relations Department and the support of other components, if necesary. Our purpose is to find companies and educational centers that guarantee the best learning adapted to the specific teachings of our students.

Each student will receive personalized advice about the academic and general mobility issues, both by the International Coordinator and the tutor. Each outgoing student will sign a learning agreement before his/her departure, which will guarantee the full academic recognition of their period of study. 

Incoming students will receive logistical and academic advice by the Erasmus Coordinator and its tutor, as they develop an orientation program to help finding accommodation, information material and information on language courses.

The School will provide the documents and materials needed, provided under the criteria established in the ECTS. This ensures the quality, transparency and cooperation between centers. 

Regarding the international profesional training, the EAG has a procedure to ensure the quality of the enterprises. All the trainings developed by students allow them to earn academic credits which will appear in their title. The school will sign an agreement with each enterprise and an agreement for each student. Insurance will cover the full period of the mobility. At the end of the internship, the student must write an explanatory report, the tutor of the enterprise must fill out an assessment questionnaire in order to get a general assessment of mobility. Thanks to this procedure, very defined and visibilized, it is possible to guarantee 100% recognition of the training period.

The selection of the educational centres will be based on the suitability and similarity to the profile of professional artistic studies taught in our school regardless of the geographic area in which they are located. Prior contact is made by phone and/or email to exchange basic information about the curriculum, the language of the subjects, the credits system and as many issues as there will be necessary depending on the specific needs of each center. After this first contact a preparatory  visit of our staff will be made, if possible, to establish more direct contact and to verify firsthand the characteristics of the center. If the centre meets the requirements, an agreement will be created and will be monitored before, during and after the mobilities by checks carried out by the coordinator to the students and teachers which have done the mobility. 

Regarding profesional training abroad the procedure will be similar but attending items as the dedication of the company, the job the student will develop, schedule, functionality, location and size. These trainings will be monitorized before, during and after mobility through questionnaires and statements carried out by the coordinator, the students and the tutor in the company. 

The mobilities will be aimed at all those members of the educational community of the EAG: teachers, students of higher education and staff.

The School of Arts of Granada (EAG) has the following goals: 

• To encourage cooperation with institutions by participating in projects related to our teachings and learnings by signing cooperation agreements, trying to increase the number and quality of inter institutional agreements every year.
• To implement information regarding the cooperation with institutions on the website and Erasmus Blog of the center in order to provide all the necessary information in the incoming or outgoing mobilities that are carried out.
• To use the mass media, social networks and different platforms to promote and publicize the activities carried out within the Erasmus+ programme throughout a dissemination plan.
• To facilitate the participation of staff in different mobilities as well that will allow and renew methodologies and knowledge, foster interchange, cooperation and future mobilities of other students and teachers.
• Trying to guarantee the sustainability over time of the different Erasmus projects undertaken.

To achieve these goals the EAG has developed an extensive program of international activities, including participation in International Forums for Design and Innovation, the participation in European Educational Projects with Schools of Arts, the participation in international projects in collaboration with the Andalusian Legacy Foundation. Collaboration agreements have been  signed with Art Education Centers from European countries, and international institutions related with design and art. Collaboration agreements have been signed also with enterprises from different EU countries for profesional training for our students.

The EAG promotes educational innovation and entrepreneurial culture, organizing courses and meetings with teachers and professionals (in the field of design and artistic creation).

This international cooperation strategy is organized in two directions, in one hand the European Union countries and in the other, countries of the Mediterranean basin and Latin America. Not to forget the multicultural and historical past of the city of Granada.

The expected impact of the participation of the School of Arts of Granada (EAG) in the Erasmus+ Programme complies with the five priorities set out in the Agenda for the modernization of Higher Education Systems in Europe, and therefore contributes to increase the number of graduates of higher education, to improve the quality and relevance of teaching and researcher training, to equip graduates with the knowledge and core transferable competences they need to succeed in high-skill occupations; to provide more opportunities for students to gain additional skills through study or training abroad, and to encourage cross-border co-operation to boost higher education performance; to strengthen the “knowledge triangle”, linking education, research and business and to create effective governance and funding mechanisms in support of excellence. 

Taking these priorities as a reference, the EAG expects a positive impact that will affect the entire school. By the moment, the structure of the school has been affected by the recent creation of a a specific Department of International Programmes and a position that  asumes the coordination of the Erasmus+ Programme, because the number of mobilities have increased and therefore the school is expected to increase year after year the number of mobilities depending on the demand. Also, the school expects to maintain the agreements in which we are currently involved and to create new agreements that strengthen the “knowledge triangle” by involving businesses. We believe the impact that this programme will generate will be very beneficial for all components of the educational community and will generate positive results in the acquisition of new skills in students, teachers and staff that will receive incoming students and staff encouraging integration, cohesion and intercultural learning.