EUCANET

In response to the challenges and opportunities posed by globalisation, universities all over the world have recognised the need of prioritising their international dimension and defining their own strategic polices and mechanisms in order to face the current and future circumstances.
Being part of this panorama, the universities of the Caribbean Region increasingly recognise the direct link between boosting their international dimension and consequent socio-economic development. Cooperative university actions such as international scientific consortia, exchange programmes and joint academic degrees are some initiatives that can boost the role of universities as such actors by offering opportunities and delivering resources that meet the needs of their labour markets and societies. However Caribbean universities are often faced by a lack of specialised human resources in the administrative support for international activities, poor visibility at international spheres and insufficient intra-regional cooperation.
In order to change this reality, EUCANET aimed to increase institutional capacity at the Caribbean universities in the field of international relations by exchanging know-how, managerial skills and experiences on the management of international relations offices (IRO).
The main results of the project were the modernisation of the involved IROs by implementing new management measures and operative strategic plans towards the internationalisation of the institution; the increase to mobility of students and researchers; and the establishment of the first university network at the Caribbean region that serves to raise the academic and scientific profile at an international level.
EUCANET project also devoted a great effort to help the Haitian partners recover from the earthquake that hit the island. The main project impact for them were the development of a strategic document that will help international donors to identify potential needs and problems to be tackled down through international cooperation; and also to set up a scholarship programme as a pilot experience that allowed a concrete number of Haitian students to take a scholarship programme in Dominican Republic HEIs.