IRO goes mobile -International Relations Office Staff Exchange at ESADA

Jasmina Milovanović
Anđela Russo
University of Arts in Belgrade, International Relations Office

Erasmus+ Mobility for Training at:

Andalusian Higher School of Art and Design in Granada, Spain

During the first week of May, the International Relations Office of the University of Arts in Belgrade had the great pleasure of visiting the Andalusian Higher School of Art and Design (ESADA) in Granada, Spain. The team of the University of Arts was represented by the Head of IRO, Ms Jasmina Milovanović and the Erasmus+ Mobility Coordinator, Ms Anđela Russo. Our host, the ESADA’s Erasmus+ Mobility Coordinator Mr Félix Guerrero, greeted us with remarkable hospitality. The goal of the mobility was to learn about each other’s activities in international cooperation, with a particular focus on the implementation of Erasmus+ KA1 projects.

At the beginning of our mobility period, we had the opportunity to meet ESADA’s management team, the Directors, Mr José A. González and Ms Carmen Gómez. Together we discussed the ongoing cooperation between the schools and our shared institutional experience in the Erasmus+ programme. It was particularly interesting and enriching to compare different approaches to artistic education systems in Serbia and Spain.

We continued to discuss the implementation of mobilities with Mr Guerrero, exchanging best practices and learning about each other’s implementation activities. Job shadowing of the colleagues responsible for the mobility implementation at ESADA and implementing new knowledge back home was the fundamental goal of the mobility. We gave special attention to the activities related to inclusion and digitalisation, some of the key aspects of the new Erasmus+ programme.

The added value of the exchange was the opportunity to get to know our partner more closely. Mr Guerrero guided us through the school, showing us departments, equipment and introducing us to professors. ESADA organised our meeting with the department coordinators: Mr Jairo López for Fashion Design, Mr Fernando Ortega for Interior Design, Ms Lorena Ruiz for Graphic Design, Mr Pedro Martínez Valverde for Product Design and Alfonso Jurado, the coordinator of the Master in Videogame Design. This meeting was the key to understanding what study programmes ESADA offers and their teaching methodology, the information we will share with our students interested in the exchange at ESADA. Our visit continued by getting to know the students of ESADA with particular focus on those who are at the moment on the exchange.

The team of the University of Arts also had the chance to present their institution to the students of ESADA and answer their questions about the application process and study programme offer at UAB. Particular focus was put on the Faculty of Applied Arts, which has the most substantial similarities with ESADA’s programme. We were glad to see that students were interested in the Faculty of Applied Arts. We hope this contributed to the continuation of successful mobilities between our two schools.

We are delighted that exchanges between ESADA and the University of Arts will continue in the Autumn of 2022. One student mobility from Belgrade to Granada will take place at the beginning of the next semester, and Belgrade expects to host a teaching staff mobility in the same semester.

The experience at ESADA and in Granada was genuinely unforgettable and enriching. ESADA’s warm welcome and dedication to hosting us left us with great memories, valuable new knowledge and a very thankful heart. We are very much looking forward to new projects with ESADA in the future!