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Academic Exchange and Mobility

Working Group

Chair: Chantal Riccardi

Chantal Riccardi works as International Mobility Officer at the University of Pavia and she has over 17 years of experience in the field of international students mobility. She graduated in Political Sciences (master’s degree in African and Asian Studies) at the University of Pavia. She has been recently involved in the Mobility Task Force and a technical Work Package of the European Alliance EC2U. She is taking part actively in the digitization process of the Erasmus+ Programme being a member of the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) National Working Groups set up by the National Agency.

Vice-Chair: Daniela Sauge

Daniela Sauge is the Head of the Academic Exchange Office of the University of Geneva since 2018. The office actively contributes to the implementation of UNIGE’s international strategy through the setting up of academic exchange, mainly for studying but also for research. It is also responsible for the maintenance and conclusion of collaborations at the European level.

Working Group Focus

The AEM Working Group focuses on staff and student mobility as well as international exchange, addressing a wide range of challenges. These include boosting participation numbers, promoting more sustainable travel options, ensuring inclusivity, supporting the recognition of international experiences for the students, and exploring new mobility formats introduced by European University alliances.

In light of complex political contexts, the planning and execution of mobility programmes require cooperation, sharing of experiences and innovative thinking from all participating institutions. While the WG adheres to national and EU policies, its members view them as a source of inspiration and use their efforts to try to introduce innovative approaches. Due to the variety of activities, the group also organises thematic subgroups to deal with specific topics.

The main activities are:

  • to promote and increase academic exchange (students, scholars and administrative staff) amongst Coimbra Group universities;
  • to exchange insights and solutions on effective practices and common challenges encountered in the day-to-day management of student and staff mobility within academic institutions;
  • to promote the activity of the AEM WG and Coimbra Group itself in the international context;
  • to develop joint projects aimed at improving quality of mobility, encouraging amongst others sustainable behaviour and the valorisation of the transversal skills acquired during international experiences, as well as implementing new schemes and tools supporting mobility;
  • to advise the Coimbra Group Executive Board on possible actions to be taken to influence the development of European educational programmes with mobility components, including through the production of policy documents or recommendations;
  • to strengthen civic engagement and co-creation of good practices with a close collaboration with students’ associations (Erasmus Student Network and ESU).

Priorities for 2025-2026

  • Grow CG Student Exchange Network and the number of exchanges by working on:
    • Student exchange challenges (mental health issues, etc.),
    • Collaboration with other WGs.
  • Sustainable Mobility – Greener Exchanges and Guidelines.
  • Valorisation of the transversal skills acquired during international experiences through the sharing of good practices among CG Universities.
  • Joint projects of AEM WG partners with students (ESN) and for civic engagement.
  • Involvement of International Relations Offices into European Universities Alliances.

Recent highlights since June 2024:

  • Participation as speakers in 3 sessions at the 2025 Erasmus Generation Meeting in Ancona:
    • Session “Green Mobility: From Concept to Championing: Discussion on the topic of student mobility and sustainability”.
    • Session “How to Get the Best Out of the Transversal Skills Acquired During International Experiences: Good Practices in Coimbra Group Universities”.
    • Session “It’s a two-way street – diving into student-related data from the EAIE Barometer”.
  • AEM WG Meetings :
    • Heidelberg University: on 11-13 November 2024.
    • Brussels: on 29-30 January 2025.
  • Participation in the Coimbra Group Climate Symposium on 24-26 March 2025 at Durham University and presentation of a poster: “Tips for a sustainable academic exchange”.

Ongoing/forthcoming activities 2025-2026:

  • Inter-WGs meeting AEM WG + EMP WG, and  AEM WG + GP WG, 11 June 2025 at the CG Annual Conference in Bologna.
  • Autumn AEM WG: 20-22 October 2025.
  • Continuation of series of activities on sustainable mobility of CG students and staff.
  • Continuation and further initiatives in line with ESN – mobility of students among CG universities.
  • Sharing good practices on mental health issues and other relevant topics.

Contact person at the CG Office: Martina Tesseri (tesseri@coimbra-group.eu)