The project “Creating an International Semester for Master Programmes in Quantitative Finance” (INTQUANT) established a strategic partnership in finance and risk management between 4 higher education institutions (HEI) throughout Europe. The consortium consisted of the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna (UAS, coordinator), the University of Bologna (UNIBO), the University of Economics in Katowice (UEK) and the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi (UAIC). In a nutshell INTQUANT aimed to enhance the quality and attractiveness of international student mobility in the master programmes in quantitative finance at the participating HEI. High quality mobility is one of the core goals of the Bologna Process and provides substantial added value: it enhances competences, knowledge and skills; fosters internationalisation of higher education; and promotes employability through international experience of graduates. However, study programmes in quantitative finance face particular challenges when trying to internationalise. While many HEI run broad programmes in business administration, the number of focused programmes in finance and risk management is small. As a result it is often difficult to find appropriate partner HEI for quality student exchange, which starkly contrasts with a high demand for international mobility options among students. In addition we observed a great interest to specialise in a specific subject area towards the end of the study period.Against this background we aimed to:- enhance the quality of student mobility through clearly structured mobility paths and specialisation options, which are embedded directly in the curricula at all HEI- make mobility accessible to participants with fewer opportunities (e.g. career parallel students) through newly developed short-term mobility options- address the increasing demand of students to further specialise towards the end of the study programmes through four attractive specialisation options- foster the labour market relevance of the involved study programmes and to enhance ties with the world of work through direct involvement of the financial industry - develop, test and implement a new practice oriented course concept (including company case studies)- reduce barriers for mobility through an efficient recognition of qualifications and credits gained abroadActivities and methodology:In order to achieve these objectives we implemented a detailed work plan. The 4th semester was reformed at each HEI to reach a harmonised structure:- A course on “Advanced Topics” with a different specialisation at each HEI (6 ECTS)- The master thesis (18 ECTS)- An exam and/or additional courses as required by local standards (6 ECTS)Based on this harmonised structure two levels of mobility were developed: The basic level consists of short-term mobility for the course “Advanced Topics” to one of the participating institutions (6 ECTS, different specialisations to choose). The extended level targets the full semester (30 ECTS) and leads to a double degree. As for the course in “Advanced Topics” each HEI developed a different specialisation path linked to its institutional profile and in cooperation with a local industry representative in the given field:- UAS: Advanced Topics in Asset Management- UNIBO: Advanced Topics in Quantitative Methods in Finance- UEK: Advanced Topics in Insurance Management - UAIC: Advanced Topics in Bank Risk ManagementAchieved results:- 4 adjusted curricula in quantitative finance- 2 new double degree agreements (UAIC with UAS and UEK)- 3 adjusted double degree agreements (update of existing agreements between UAS, UEK and UNIBO)- A newly developed course concept for a series of intensive programmes- 2 editions of the pilot intensive programme on “Advanced Topics” (to prepare the ground for the international course “Advanced Topics” with different specialisation options)- 1 edition of the reformed master programmes at each partner HEI (start in the winter term 2015/2016, including 4 intensive programmes)- 6 case study reports from the courses in “Advanced Topics” as open educational resource- A final conference and a set of local dissemination workshops to showcase results of the projects and reach key target groups - A project website for communication and disseminationSelected impacts:- On students: enhanced ability to work in international teams and to transform theoretical know-how into practice; increased access to mobility; higher employability- On the HEI: increased quality and relevance of education; enhanced competitiveness; strengthened HEI network; closer links to the industry- On the industry: closer links to HEI; direct contact to possible future employees- Beyond the consortium: promotion of the EU’s modernisation and internationalisation agenda in higher education; better trained graduates on the labour market; free access to the developed open educational resources

As a consortium of Higher Education Institutes (HEI) in urban areas (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Paris, Vienna) we are increasingly aware that we, students, teaching & research staff, have a role in contributing to develop a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient economy and society in our cities. We build on experience since 2007 with an international intercity cooperation programme for students: International Virtual Consulting Firm (IVCF) related to city marketing questions from companies & municipal departments. In 2020 the needs of cities and HEIs have changed. Cities struggle to reclaim a balance between the popular central area and unpopular peripheral areas. The narrative of cities needs to be enlarged. Urban peripheral areas are new centres of interest. HEIs need to prepare students to be critical thinkers in the age of information and for jobs which have not yet been defined.The Researching the City: Mapping Imaginaries (IMAGE) method combines these needs. A new approach uses mapping tools to bring attention to the peripheral, often neglected, areas of our cities and maps them as enclaves of dynamism and creativity. With this method students are trained to actively search for information, stimulating critical thinking. Students work with city partners such as city council, inhabitants, citizens initiatives and local cultural organisations and companies on real life societal challenges. In interdisciplinary and intercultural settings they share their research findings with colleague students abroad in this way enhancing the solutions to include knowledge and experience from other cities. This cooperation as partners is the core of this method.Original partners in the IVCF cooperation, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Ramon Lull University/Blanquerna and Ecole Supérieure de Gestion de Commerce Paris are joined by University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna and Escola Superior de Comunicação Social at Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa.At least 10 city partners are involved as associate partners. Cooperating in the assignment design with specific examples, expertise and network. Also contributing to teaching material and training of teaching staff. During the final interactive conference they present and showcase on location. Data generated by the project is used by them in their policy plans and implementation of solutions.METHODOLOGYThe 2-year project will produce 6 Intellectual Outputs (IO) together forming the IMAGE teaching & research method. Each IO and activity is led by a HEI based of its experience and expertise. During three testing pilot rounds teaching staff will design a prototype, test, evaluate and then revise the prototype with all stakeholders, students, teaching staff, city partners. All partners feel joint and equal responsibility for the results of the project. Three pilots for students and teaching staff to work with the IMAGE method, will contribute to the dissemination of the project within the HEIs and partners. Two training events will prepare the teaching staff for the development and running of the pilots. Transnational Project meetings will contribute to team building, the common understanding of the project, the tasks, the responsibilities and the lines of communication. A final multiplier event will present and share the results of the project. A popular scientific magazine and a documentary will show the training of students, the mapping of the peripheries, the train the trainers and the outcomes of the student research findings. A community of practice on Researching the city is established including stakeholders from HEIs and city partners. RESULTS & IMPACTA suite of open access materials (IOs) can be used by everyone to implement the IMAGE method; the Knowledge Hub platform, teaching case & process guide, teacher training material, mapping toolkit. Individual impact: students develop in their understanding of places and their employability skills, including first generation HEI students from peripheral areas. Teaching Staff become researching the city experts. Inhabitants and city partners in the city peripheries experience an uplift of the image of the area they live in and feel empowered.Institutional impact: IMAGE is an influential research-based didactical method at all partner HEIs and part of the curricula.Regional/National/international impact: engaged extended European intercity network of stakeholders, including HEIs, municipalities, business and civil life. Peripheral areas have become more visible and prestigious, an integrated part of the city as a whole. Beyond project time IMAGE is to be further disseminated within partner university networks to enhance growth of collaboration projects. Project results will be multiplied outside the local project teams in each (city) partner via the media in the cities and in an Expanded Researching the City Network. Written during Covid-19 times, IMAGE gives us hope for the future.

Partners: Austria: University of Applied Sciences bfi, Vienna, Croatia: University of Zagreb FOI & Varazdin Technology Park, Denmark: Business Academy Aarhus, Netherlands: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (project coordinator), Poland: Kozminski University, Warsaw.The five Higher Education Institutions in this project are both universities of applied science as well as academic universities. The universities have part-time (in-work) student populations. These students, and many of their full-time students as well, have no or limited opportunities to travel for their study programme or be part of an international classroom, especially from Poland and Croatia. However, they still need to develop skills like intercultural communication, digital competences, teamwork and research skills in an international setting to enhance their employability in today’s globalised working environment. Professionals who have a proven ability to work effectively in international, virtual, multi-disciplinary teams are increasingly in high demand. The solution we offer is the Market Basket Virtual Student Collaboration model which we have developed based upon virtual student teams from different countries. Students from the same or different disciplines and courses working together on a specific project assignment. This could be an assignment issued by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) or a case study or another practical assignment. The students do not meet in person, but use Skype, email, social media or online platforms to work together. In this way they acquire the virtual (and intercultural) collaboration skills which they will need for their future workplace. Afterwards, students evaluate, analyse and benchmark cross-border working methods and techniques, cross-cultural competencies and present their research findings to the clients in a report. The need for information about cross-cultural topics and market information among SMEs induced us to include SMEs as important stakeholders. SMEs or start-up companies from the partner's business networks and our sixth partner in the consortium, Technology Park Varazdin, provided real-life assignments for the student teams to work on. This added the entrepreneurial element to the students' assignments and taught students to interact with clients. Since we also aim to inspire other HEIs to use our virtual teamwork model, we decided to make the model less marketing oriented and more multi-disciplinary. The new name and visual identity became “Beezr”. A full implementation pack with handbooks and a full set of teaching materials is offered via our website www.beezr.eu . No login needed and available for use within Europe or outside Europe.The methodology which was used in carrying out this two year strategic partnership project was as follows:During the first year the implementation pack with training materials and necessary resources and a website as an Open Educational Resource and with a login protected work and sharing space (only available upon registration) was created. Throughout the two project years the testing, evaluation and adjusting of the implementation pack and website was carried out through concrete teaching pilots from various Bachelor programmes of the participating HEIs, e.g. Marketing, Project Management, IT, Multi-media , Communication Management and other programmes. This included 450 students, about 30 lecturers and 12 companies. The final results of the project were disseminated during a launch conference called Virtual Collaboration Across Cultures for 75 lecturers and managers from HEIs from the Netherlands, from Europe and beyond, on 28 and 29 November 2016. Key note speaker Liat Shentser, manager at Cisco Systems, confirmed that virtual teamwork is not the future, but that it is already very much the present. ‘Graduate students need to be taught the skills how to function in such teams consisting of colleagues in many different countries and from many different cultures’.The impact and long term benefits of the Beezr (MAB 2.0) projects are manifold Firstly, a set of support materials is available as open resource on www.beezr.eu . Secondly, lecturers and managers of our own institutions have incorporated virtual teamwork in their lessons. Lastly, awareness has grown within our partner institutes and beyond about the importance of introducing virtual teamwork into the educational programmes because employers need students to have intercultural, virtual teamwork skills and graduates who are savvy at both the ICT as well as the interpersonal side of this collaboration. Moreover, the model shows examples of how to foster cooperation and bridge the worlds of education and work by working with real assignments of SMEs via the business network.This is why we intend to continue the website for the next two years to promote free access for the public to the intellectual outputs of the project adding to the sustainability of the project