Abstract: International market for higher education is characterized by an increasing level of globalization and the acceleration of the international integration process. The increase in the number of collaborations and the formation of networks play an increasingly important role in higher education. The institutional strategies for the competitiveness of higher education’s competition in the market today transcend national markets and justify the development of international / global strategies. The training of a workforce with the appropriate level of higher education can be implemented with the involvement of domestic and foreign institutions. In the case of higher education institutions, the focus of the process of internationalization is primarily on exploiting the opportunities for student mobility.

Abstract: The article is dedicated to the evaluation of universities participating in the Stranger project in terms of the level of preparation for accepting foreign students and lecturers. It contains the most important results of quantitative primary research conducted using the PAPI questionnaire interview method and the recommendations for universities based on them. The research was conducted in the period of December 2018 – March 2019 at all partner universities of the project in two target groups: foreign students and university employees representing both scientists and teachers as well as the university administrative staff. In total, the research covered 366 students and 224 employees. While performing the analyses of the research results we focused on finding possible differences in terms of characteristics such as the country of origin, country of exchange, gender or the character of studies in the case of a group of students, and features such as country, gender, type of work performed, and seniority in the case of university employees. The results of the conducted analyses showed the existence of statistically significant differences, mainly in the case of such characteristics as country, type of studies and type of work performed.

Abstract: The research is to identify all potential barriers that result from the lack of proper preparation of students before studying at a foreign university and make full and effective adaptation in the new environment difficult. One of the research tools is in-depth interview. The objectives are the identification of factors that impede the students’ full and effective adaptation in the new academic environment. These factors are: communication in a foreign language; different teaching and evaluation system; incorrect flow of information and cultural differences. The findings confirm the project’s main hypothesis about the students’ difficulties when going international for their studies. The problems are more or less the same no matter the nationality and the sex of the students. The basic problems have to do with the communication, culture and everyday arrangements at home and at the university, e.g. secretariat or academic staff announcements and course organization.

Abstract: This article highlights the results of research carried out by partner universities as part of the Erasmus+ project “International mobility – opportunity and problem. Proper preparation of the university for international students” in 2019. This article provides data on the intensity and character of the process of international mobility of students in various European countries and the results of the classification of these countries by a set of indicators. Desk research analyses on problems in various universities in EU countries mainly in terms of searching for good practices was applied. Information from study portals, webpages of universities in 24 European countries was collected and analysed. A list of good practices used by European universities to assist international students by choice of university, majors and courses of study, provision of accommodation, adapting to the new cultural and language environment and by other organizational and educational situations was compiled. Existing experience and insights of European universities were used during the preparation of the project document “Manual for the university. How to prepare for the reception of international students”.

Abstract: Due to globalisation and the fast growing number of international projects and assignments companies are in some way involved in international negotiations and therefore they have to deal with intercultural issues. In recent years, for students and teachers alike, the main goals of mobility have been learning and teaching in different environments as well as learning languages and benefiting from cross-cultural experiences. The paper is based on research which analyses the instance of meeting individuals from different cultures as a source of conflict; it looks into the interactions concerned, the values, beliefs, assumptions and behaviour of the parties involved. The purpose of this study was to identify important elements that the Polish, Ukrainian, Greek and Hungarian students experienced while studying together with international students. This is based on a quantitative (online questionnaire) primary research, conducted at universities in Poland, Hungary, Greece and Ukraine. Based on the results of the research we can gain information in order to prepare to reduce cultural shock and adaptation time for foreign students in their new environment.

Abstract: The main goal of the focus group discussion is to improve the preparation of the university for the process of internationalisation. The universities need to prepare for receiving an increasing number of international students. During this process we would like to minimize the potential problems that the students and lecturers might encounter. A project – specifically the Stranger – was initiated by a team of educators from Poland, Greece, Hungary and Ukraine. The project team produced booklets to help the various stakeholders of the internationalisation process prepare. One of them is to guide foreign students through the reception process. The title of the booklet is: “What should I know before I go to a foreign study/foreign exchange?” The result of the focus group interviews helped in the development of the guide for students who want to study at a foreign university. The booklet was preceded by initial research carried out in three groups of respondents: university administration having contact with foreign students, research and didactic staff conducting classes with foreign students and students from a host country who study together with foreign students. The results of the focus group interviews were intended to identify all potential problems in the new environment that might be eliminated if students were properly prepared before embarking upon studying in a foreign university.

Abstract: The internationalization of tertiary education is a process inseparably connected with the cross-cultural competence of all its participants. Professional administrative staff of the university, able to provide information in a competent and substantive manner, effectively interacting with both foreign students and lecturers as well as their colleagues, are the backbone of the process. The article presents the definition and selected models of cross-cultural competence, the role it plays in the performance of professional tasks by administrative employees and the methods (off the job and on the job) that can be used to shape it. Based on the analyses, we formulated specific recommendations for universities.

Abstract: This article is part of the Stranger project, a project aiming to efficiently prepare universities engaged in the internationalization process. This research project resulted in three intellectual outputs: the development of two manuals, one directed towards the preparation of universities in order to receive foreign students, another intended for the preparation of foreign students prior to traveling abroad for their studies. The third output is the designing and preparation of appropriate didactic materials serving as a training tool to prepare university employees contacting foreign students. This article stems from the third output of the project, and as such, it aims through the development of didactic material to bridge the cultural differences often arising between a host university administrative staff and its foreign students.

Abstract: The paper deals with the topic of international academic mobility in Ukraine. It overviews the literature by both national and international researchers on the issue under investigation and provides a case study of the accomplishments made and pitfalls Ukrainian universities encounter on their integration into the common European educational area. Inconsistent educational legislations between contracting countries, as well as the absence of uniform legal regulations, are stated to be the basic instruments that prevent successful implementing of the programmes on academic mobility and factors of major concern that exacerbate the process of students’ or teaching staff ’s exchanges when addressing the topic of academic mobility in Ukraine. A critical study of the analytical data made it possible to spot an array of administrative, managerial, financial and educational properties and socio-cultural roadblocks that hamper Ukrainian transition into the common European educational area. The authors provide statistics on the top rated countries for Ukrainian outbound academic mobility, and on the top rated Ukrainian universities for inbound academic mobility. The research reveals that outbound academic mobility outweighs the inbound one into Ukraine owing to the fact the procedures of transferring a Ukrainian student to a university abroad are less complicated than those of a foreign student to Ukrainian higher education establishments. Finally, there are suggestions as to how it might be possible to align educational curricula with the European principles of higher education to foster international academic mobility in Ukraine.