The mdw was recently honoured with an Erasmus+ Award, conferred by the Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD) as part of a festive ceremony on 12 December 2023. The OeAD recognised the mdw for its outstanding achievements in the cultivation of international cooperative relationships and education that transcends national borders. The Erasmus+ Awards honour organisations whose participation in EU support programmes has had an impressive impact on the personal, institutional, and systemic levels. A total of 18 organisations in various education-related areas received awards, with the mdw standing out as a lively example of successful collaboration. Erasmus+ participants return from their foreign stays with new skills as well as lots of new experiences and fresh ideas that impact institutions in lasting ways and thereby ensure the sustained effect of the Erasmus+ ideal.
Alongside the mdw’s receipt of the Erasmus+ Award, our institution also paid fitting tribute to the Erasmus programme’s birthday: the mdw has been an active participant in the Erasmus+ programme for three decades, a long period of dedicated work that represent all the more reason to celebrate. The University has built an impressive network that includes a multitude of longstanding partners all over Europe and a growing number of non-European partner institutions. These relationships bear witness not only to the variety that characterises such collaboration but also to the mdw’s pioneering vision as a key player in the global educational landscape. The Erasmus+ programme’s implementation at the mdw involves close collaboration between the International Office and the Human Resources Development – Center for Further Education. This makes clear the dedication and multifaceted expertise that the mdw brings to bear in doing its part to facilitate the conduct of Erasmus+ activities. In doing so, the focus is on sustainability, inclusion, digital transformation, and participation by young people in democratic processes. The successful implementation of MobilityOnline at the mdw, for example, now facilitates the fully digital processing of mobility activities—in addition to which special support is provided for travel with climate-friendly modes of transport as well as for participants with fewer opportunities (due to such factors as physical, psychological, or health-related impairments) and individuals who have Childcare responsibilities.
Exchanging students, administrative employees, and teaching faculty leads to new cooperative relationships on the European and international levels while also strengthening the mdw’s relationships with embassies and cultural associations as well as contributing to its international flair. Participants associate Erasmus+ with new adventures, growth, inspiration, and new perspectives and friendships. All of this is expressed by the leitmotif “We are not alone but united” and reflects the value of real-life international exchange. The Erasmus+ Award represents not only the recognition of past achievements but also an incentive for future efforts, and the mdw is set to remain a lively node in this international educational network—proud of 30 years of Erasmus+ as it looks forward to a promising international future.
