Digitalised Erasmus+ Experience Stories Result in RSU Receiving the Spārni 2022 Award
Every year, around 120 students from Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) travel to one of 150 Erasmus+ partner universities. Their experiences are no longer just social media posts or conversations with friends and family, but are also compiled on a single platform, the university's Student Mobility Experience website. For this initiative, RSU has received the Spārni 2022 Excellence Award from the State Education Development Agency (Valsts izglītības attīstības aģentūra, VIAA).
The collected experience stories, which can be filtered by study programme, type of mobility, host country, or university, serve as a source of information for future Erasmus students who want to find out everything they can before making a decision. This website was launched in 2018 by the RSU International Department in cooperation with the university website’s editorial team. The stories are available in Latvian and English and can therefore serve as a source of insight for both local and international students.
VIAA introduced the Spārni Awards in 2004. They are presented every two years to promote the development and implementation of good quality Erasmus+ projects, highlight the contribution that project managers have made, and to encourage international experience exchange. This year, the awards were presented to three vocational education institutions for their contribution to excellence in vocational education and skills, three local municipalities and their departments for providing effective and sustainable career support, and nine Erasmus+ project implementers for their outstanding achievements in implementing the programme's priorities: inclusion and diversity, digital transformation, environment and climate change, and participation in democratic processes. Four educational institutions were presented with the European Commission's European Innovative Teaching Award.
From the left: Anita Krastiņa, RSU International Department Project Manager, Maruta Funta, Erasmus+ Programme Coordinator, and Baiba Pētersone, Director of the RSU International Department
