Heriot-Watt University (HWU) is ?Scotland?s international university? and is proud of the global educational experience offered to its students and staff. Being an active participant in Erasmus+ is integral to achieving the objectives of the HWU's International strategy which aim to: - continue to grow rapidly all streams of international activity, providing invaluable international experience for students, - enhance the internationalisation of research and knowledge exchange activities - provide entry to employment opportunities worldwide. Erasmus+ Learning Mobility for Individuals has been vital to the University's Exchange Programme for many years and securing the Erasmus Charter to provide these exchange opportunities has always been a key objective of the University. Over 90% of the student placements undertaken in 2014/15 were compulsory and all placements available (whether compulsory or optional) have secured the full approval from the relevant Studies Committee for a placement abroad to ensure high quality global opportunities for students and staff. Profile of 2014/15 Project Participants: 166 Erasmus+ placements were undertaken; broken down as follows: - 105 HWU students participated in 151 placements (many of the students were on 2 one-semester Language placements in their academic year). - 10 academic staff participated in 11 placements (1 member of staff participated in 2 placements). - 4 non-academic staff participated in 1 placements each. - all of the 151 student placements were study with students participating at 3rd year undergraduate level, apart from 5% of placements which were at 4th year undergraduate level. - 78% of participants were female. - 60% of the HWU students were from Scotland, 20% were from the rest of the UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), 15% were from the European Union and the remaining 5% were international students. - all participants (students and staff) were eligible for Erasmus+ funding with 16 placements qualifying for the Erasmus+ supplementary funding for participants from a disadvantaged background. Description of undertaken activities: - Student mobilities were concentrated in 3 subject areas: Languages, International Business Management, International Business Management with Languages. These 3 subjects are all based within the School of Management & Languages and represented over 90% of the outward mobility. - 90% of the student participants were away for the full academic year (either on one year placement or 2 one-semester placements); the remaining students were away for one semester. - Spain, France, Germany and Belgium were the top destinations for Erasmus+ placements study abroad with 80% of the mobilities being to those countries. - Students followed a selection of courses from the curriculum of the partnering institution (as agreed in the student mobility agreements prior to the placement and then finalised on arrival). All placements were awarded credits using the European Credit and Transfer (ECTS) credit system. Language students would also be required to submit a project, written in the language of the host country and submitted to HWU for marking. - All teaching placements were undertaken by academic staff from 2 schools: the School of Management & Languages and the School of Life Sciences. - All staff training mobilities were undertaken by non-academic staff from 2 departments - the Chaplaincy and the Undergraduate Office (UG) of the School of Engineering & Physical Sciences. The purpose of the placements for the staff from the UG office of the School of Engineering & Physical Sciences were to work with their partnering institutions for the Erasmus Joint Masters degree programme in Smart Systems integration. The other placement was a visit by the University Chaplain to a higher education institution in Hungary on invitation to speak and share best practices. Results and impact attained and longer-term benefits: At the end of the 2014/15 project, all 166 placements were eligible for full Erasmus+ grant funding for the full duration of the placement. All students successfully completed their courses with ECTS credits awarded to contribute to the final HWU award. The percentage of participant satisfaction for their experience abroad was very high (90% plus across both outbound and inbound students and staff). The University is pleased with this very positive message about the benefits of the Erasmus+ as staff are dedicated to ensuring that participants have the very best experience whether studying abroad or coming to study, work or teach at HWU in Scotland. The enthusiasm of the participants and their work as ambassadors for Erasmus and for global mobility overall is vital to the long-term success of the Programme and University's aim to provide an international experience for as many participants as possible.