On May 5-9, 2014, Barcelona hosted “ERASMUS Staff-week 2014”, an annual training for professionals of university international departments organized by the University of Barcelona. The university welcomed participants from Turkey, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The organizers received around 140 applications for the training and only 30 of them were approved. Nizhnevartovsk State University, represented by Elena Bondarenko, an expert on academic mobility of the International Office, was the only Russian university at the event.

The training was devoted to the academic mobility of students within ERASMUS program and mobility of teachers and administrative staff in the European Community. The specialists from the Office of Mobility and International Programs of the University of Barcelona and the representatives of major European universities taking part in ERASMUS program shared their vast experience in academic mobility with the participants.

The event included presentations and reports on such issues as internationalization of higher education, academic mobility management within European programs, and major methods of working with foreign students. During public discussions the participants could share their concerns and difficulties connected with the implementation of academic mobility programs.

At the end of the training Maria Callejón, Vice-Rector for International Policy at the University of Barcelona, presented all the participants with ceremonial certificates of training and welcomed each participant in his or her own language.

Apart from the training the participants were able to enjoy a cultural program and take part in the sightseeing tour of Barcelona and a tour around the historical building of the University.