Virtual Mobility: the value of inter-cultural exchange

In this paper, we reformulate the concept of Virtual Mobility and introduce the Movinter Modelling Framework, which supports HEIs in designing and implementing an integrated use of Virtual Mobility to enhance the internationalisation of study experiences.

The paper closes with recommendations on how to extract the potential of Virtual Mobility in the next decade. We must continue to question why Virtual Mobility is important, and pay attention to the unexploited potential of this idea, in order to: (1) democratise access to an international, transdisciplinary and multicultural study experience, now available only to a relatively small minority of students, thereby contributing to social cohesion; (2) produce stable collaboration among teaching and research teams, and their institutions, building on recognised complementarities and specialisations through networking activities; (3) make the practice of joint titles, at various academic levels (undergraduate, master and doctoral programs) and with diverse modalities (master classes, single subjects, seminars and workshops) a reality, even before a full institutional recognition of academic titles from other countries are in place; and (4) link European universities/HEIs to each other and to universities/HEIs in other parts of the world.