International Staff Days

International Staff Days @ Odisee - University of Applied Sciences 

From Tuesday, December 3rd until Thursday December, 5th 2024

 

By attending the International Staff Days, you become part of the Odisee community, alongside other international partners. During these days, expect lively discussions, teaching opportunities, great networking chances, interesting talks, cultural experiences, social events, and knowledge sharing through job shadowing. 

Registrations for international officers and coordinators of internationalization are now open. Please use the form below to indicate your interest in specific workshops and sessions. We kindly ask for your contribution by sharing your expertise, ideas or good practices.

 

natuur
Panel: What?

The International Staff Days are co-created by the International Relations Office, the research department, the different bachelor's degree programmes at Odisee and its international partners from all over the world.

Throughout the week, participants get the opportunity to connect, discuss, teach and network.

Based on the participant's interests and expertise, the programme of the International Days will be tailor-made with opportunities to take part in networking and cultural events.

Odisee invites guest lecturers to share their expertise on a topic. Administrative staff can explore roles through knowledge sharing and job-shadowing, take part in joint discussion groups, and exchange ideas on common topics within internationalization in HEIs.

 

The programme

Below, you will find an overview of the programme for our International Staff Days, along with detailed descriptions of the sessions on December 4th and 5th. 

Don’t forget to register via the link below!

Tuesday December 3rd

Programme Highlights for all participants of the International Staff Days

Programme starts at 10h00 on our campus in Brussels

  • Registration: Participants are invited to register on campus between 09:00 and 09:45.
  • Welcome
    Kick off of our International Staff Days with a warm welcome from Ann Verreth, General Director of Odisee University of Applied Sciences.
  • Keynote: The Power of Collaboration by Philippe Eiselein
    The keynote will discuss the critical role of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and building lasting connections in higher education.
  • Keynote on Erasmus+ and Ukraine by Iryna Shteimiller A moving, yet hopeful testimonial on the war in Ukraine and the impact it has on internationalization in HEI 
  • Networking lunch
  • Global Minds: Partnership from North to South Explore the impactful partnership initiatives bridging the North and South
  • Community Service Learning at Odisee by Aaron Soens
    Get to know Odisee's approach to Community Service Learning
  • Guided Brussels' tour + evening at Brussels’ Winter Market
    We finish the day with a tour of Brussels’ historical and cultural highlights and a visit to the Winter Market.

The bios of our keynote speakers can be found at the bottom of this page.

Programme is subject to change.

Wednesday December 4th

Workshops for International Officers, Coordinators of Internationalization, Research Assistants and Administrators interested in Research and Internationalization:

Partners planning on teaching will receive a tailor-made programme from their Odisee contact person.

Join us for a series of engaging workshops designed to inspire, inform, and learn from one another. Registration is required.

Programme:

10h00 - 12h00 - Keynote by Bleri Lleshi on Intercultural Competencies

13h30 - 15h00 

  • Promoting Sustainable Travel (find a detailed description below)
  • Starting and Sharing International Research Projects (find a detailed description below)

15h00 - 16h30 - Sharing Practices on the Organization of Successful International Student Exchange Programmes (find a detailed description below)

Thursday December 5th

Workshops for International Officers, Coordinators of Internationalization, Research Assistants and Administrators interested in Research and Internationalization:

Partners planning on teaching will receive a tailor-made programme from their Odisee contact person.

Join us for a series of engaging workshops designed to inspire, inform, and learn from one another. Registration is required.

Programme:

9h30 - 11h00 - Networking and Professional Development (find a detailed description below)

11h15 - 12h45 

  • Maximizing the Impact of Erasmus+ Staff Mobility: Moving Beyond Superficial Academic Tourism (find a detailed description below)
  • How to Build a Community with Engaged Students (find a detailed description below)

14h00 - 15h30 - Administrative Challenges and Support (find a detailed description below)

Register here - International Staff Days Odisee

International Staff Days

Meet the International Relations Office or Research department

Iryna Shteimiller

More about our keynote speaker Iryna Shteimiller:

Iryna Shteimiller is a distinguished expert in the field of international relations and higher education with a strong focus on fostering academic collaboration and partnership. She earned her PhD in Pedagogical Sciences from V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in 2015, following her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics. Her career spans over a decade of leadership in international academic affairs across several prestigious Ukrainian institutions.

Currently, Iryna serves as the Deputy Director of International Relations at International European University in Kyiv and holds the position of Head of the International Relations Office at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Additionally, Iryna is an Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations at Karazin University and the National Contact Point for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions in Horizon Europe, where she leads initiatives to connect Ukrainian researchers with European funding opportunities.

Throughout her career, Iryna has played a key role in promoting international partnerships, serving as Director of the Center for International Academic Partnership and leading numerous strategic projects aimed at strengthening academic exchange and cooperation. Her extensive experience also includes leading international offices at the National Aerospace University and Karazin University, where she developed and managed large-scale academic mobility programmes and research collaborations. 

Renowned for her leadership, adaptability, and strategic vision, Iryna is a respected figure in both national and international academic communities, continually contributing to the advancement of Ukraine's global academic presence. 

Iryna Shteimiller

Philippe Eiselein

More about our keynote speaker Philippe Eiselein:

Philippe Eiselein is an expert with a mission in the field of sustainability. He obtained his Ph.D. in Business Engineering from the VUB in 2021, focusing on managing social enterprises (scaling social impact and balancing conflicting objectives).

He works full-time as a senior researcher at the Center for Sustainable Entrepreneurship (CenSE) within Odisee, and also part-time as a professor of social entrepreneurship and CSR at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Over the past decade, he has presented his research at numerous international and national conferences in various countries and continents. He is particularly known for his work on sustainability projects, with a focus on cross-sector collaboration and social entrepreneurship business models, as well as competency skills.

He has been teaching Project Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Research Methods for nearly a decade. He is recognized as a keynote speaker at various international forums. Finally, he played a central role in coordinating Belgium Impact, a national platform initiated by His Majesty the King of Belgium. This platform has played a significant role as a catalyst in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, supporting over 500 social entrepreneurial stakeholders and demonstrating great impact and inspiration.

Philippe Eiselein

Aaron Soens

More about our keynote speaker Aaron Soens and Service Learning:

Aaron Soens is head of educational development and quality assurance at Odisee University of Applied Sciences. He is MA in Philosophy, expert in Service Learning Pedagogy and Ethics teacher in BA of Occupational Therapy. 

Service Learning is a pedagogical approach we use to cocreate around societal challenges. We have the ambition to let every Odisee-student experience a 'true' and authentic cocreation experience at least once by the end of their programme. This aim is part of our educational vision with "active learning in authentic and cocreative contexts" as one of the four central pillars. In this talk we will give you more insights in how the definition of cocreation and Service Learning intertwine and how we integrate this pedagogy in a learning pathway in our curricula. We will end the presentation with different good practices. 

Aaron Soens

Bleri Lleshi

More about our speaker Bleri Lleshi and his keynote on intercultural competencies:

Bleri Lleshi is philosopher and author of various books in Dutch and French. Currently he is teaching at UCLL in Leuven courses such as Philosophy, Intercultural Communication & Cross-Cultural Management. Lleshi has worked as a social worker for about 15 years in Brussels. He has been training hundreds of organisations on diversity issues.

The keynote

Cultural diversity has been increasing across Europe over the past few decades, and this trend is expected to continue in the future. The key question is how European countries will manage this growing diversity. The best approach is to transition from diversity to inclusion. This shift will not only improve the lives of people with migrant backgrounds but also benefit the receiving societies by incorporating migrants’ contributions.

One effective way to foster inclusion is by focusing on cultural competence. The more culturally competent we are, the better we can handle cultural diversity and move closer to true inclusion. Philosopher and lecturer Bleri Lleshi will delve deeper into the theoretical aspects of this topic and discuss concrete cases from Brussels.

The keynote will take place on Wednesday December 4th from 10h00 to 12h00. 

Bleri Lleshi