ERASMUS POLICY STATEMENTS
Erasmus Policy Statements
Toros University aims to be an internationaly recognised institution with large contibution to the shaping of the future economic, social and technological development in Turkey and internationally.
To achieve these goals, Toros University
■ emphasizes selected academic fields and interdisciplinary areas,
■ aims to equip its students with knowledge, skills and experience necesssary to become leaders in a constantly changing and increasingly interconnected World,
■ aims to build an academic community composed of academics who share, collaborate, and are committed to openness,
■ emphasizes developing relations with the world class educational, research and cultural institutions.
In this respect, Toros University is committed to education, research and service to community; aims to produce the work force of the future, equip the young with continuous learning skills, critical thinking skills as well as understanding of local and global issues, capacity for contributing to scientific, technological and cultural innovations, and educating them as powerful supporters of human and ethical values.
Toros University emphasizes scientific collaboration, effective, innovative and continuous learning, global citizenship and inclusive culture in order to achieve these goals. Toros University aims to graduate students that would be of high demand in domestic as well as international labor markets, especially in the areas and professions currently in demand in modern society.
Toros University particularly focuses on selected research and graduate education areas integrating with society in selected areas of service to community and assuming a leadership position in society.
Toros University is committed to increasing its international connections and developing long lasting relationships with international HEI both in Europe and around the world, including Americas and Asia. In Europe, under the cover of ERASMUS program Toros University has currently established bilateral agreements with four HEI in the countries including Germany, Portugal and Poland. Being a yong university, Toros University continues to actively search for new ERASMUS partners as well as organize bilateral agreements with new partners in Europe. The partners are chosen on the basis of host institutions' academic programs compatibility with Toros University's academic curriculum, potential to contribute to the academic and personal development of the individuals participating in mobility from either side, quality of the mobility programs implemented by the institution, and potential for mutually beneficial collaboration.
In development its international relations strategy, Toros University focuses on increasing mobility for staff and the students specifically in short and first cycles, involving one and two semester study visits abroad as well as hosting incoming students from abroad. In implementing and developing these programs, Toros University pursues the objectives of increasing the volume of mobility participants, including students and staff, in Europe and increasing its quality, ensuring high quality of mobility participation offered from the side of Toros University, encouraging cultural and educational exchange and cooperation, promoting personal and academic development of students and staff participating in mobility, offering past mobility participants venues to share their experiences and contribute to the diversification and development of local student and academic culture, increasing students awareness, and contributing further to the goals of modernising and integrating European educational and research fields.
In these activities, Toros University follows and implements the following core values:
Academic excellence and academic impact:
■Top quality education and research
■Science that change lives and deepens knowledge
■Creativity and innovation
■Focusing on the future
Inclusiveness, diversity, ethics, transparency:
■Tolerance and free exchange of ideas
■Social and international responsibility
■Respect to skills and views of each individual
■Academic freedom and responsibility
■Ethical behavior, respect to contemporary and universal values
■Shared governance
Effective management:
■Visionary leadership and agility
■Continuous strategic planning, continuous improvement
■Sustainable productivity
■Institutional and individual learning
■Strong infrastructure and systems
Being a new university, Toros University currently does not have ongoing international cooperation projects in teaching and training. However, Toros University is committed to promotion and facilitation of such international projects including EU zone, Asia and across-Atlantic. The International Office of Toros University is engaged in promoting and assisting the organisation and implementation of such projects by publishing and distributing information, providing advise to interested individuals, and assisting them with preparation and submission of projects.
The Higher Education Modernisation Agenda of EU includes following topics:
* increasing the number of higher education graduates;
* improving quality and relevance of teaching and research training;
* providing more opportunities for students to gain new skills through study or training abroad;
* strenghtening the knowledge triangle linking education, research and business;
* create effective governance and funding mechanisms in support of excellence.
As a new HEI, Toros University is focused on developing its academic programmes and increasing the number of students attending and graduating from these programmes, affecting directly the education level locally in Mersin-Adana region and Turkey and European Union in general. Participation in ERASMUS programme is an essential ingredient of this Toros University's objective, contributing strongly to further development of its academic programmes as well as their quality.
Participation of Toros University's students and staff in ERASMUS mobility programme thus provides important opportunities for students development as well as stuff exchanges, which contribute to the expansion of students' and staff's exposure to different cultures, teaching methodologies and styles, as well as personal and professional development of involved students and staff. Among many beneficial sides of this process, novel possibilities are created for improving the quality and relevance of teaching and researcher training to provide the graduates with core skill-sets needed to succeed in high-skill occupations, the students are offered new opportunities to gain,
bring back and re-share additional skills obtained during their study or training abroad, as well as create opportunities for new cross-border cooperation projects involving faculty or students.
Contributing to "knowledge triangle" and creation of effective governance and funding mechanisms in support of excellence is important task for development of competitive economies and cultures in modern fast changing world. In this respect, it is especially important to effectively share experiences and practices contributing to effective knowledge exchange in economy and promotion of excellence in society. For this, mobility exchange programmes are the key components, facilitating such ideas exchange early on in professionals' career, at the point where such ideas have the highest potential of resulting in future culture and policy changes. Fully realizing this fact, Toros University is committed to promoting this exchange of cultural and practical knowledge for improving the links between businesses and educational and research institutions, and development of effective governance and funding mechanisms in support of excellence in society.