International Partnership & Networking Week
Gateway to Europe
Meet. Match. Partner.
A partnership week for universities and public institutions beyond the EU that want to find European partners, understand Erasmus+ and other cooperation routes, and turn contacts into joint projects.
Who is this week for?
Who is this Staff Week for?
Many institutions beyond the European Union want closer ties with Europe – but finding the right partner is hard from a distance. Gateway to Europe brings international professionals from our partner institutions to Oxford: universities and colleges as well as ministries, municipalities and regional authorities, police and civil-service academies and other public bodies. You meet European colleagues in person, learn how European universities and institutions choose partners, understand how Erasmus+ and other cooperation routes work for partners outside the EU, and leave with concrete partnership plans. The week runs in parallel with our European Staff Week “Connect Europe and Beyond”, so you meet colleagues from European universities in joint networking sessions.
- International Offices of universities and colleges
- Vice-rectors and deans for international affairs
- Erasmus+ and project officers
- Ministries and public authorities with international responsibilities
- Municipalities and regions (international relations, city partnerships)
- Police and civil-service academies and other public training institutions
- Delegations from one institution or country
Why join?
Meet European partners
Joint sessions with staff from European universities and institutions taking part in our parallel Staff Week – real people, real partnership interest.
Understand Erasmus+
Learn how universities outside the EU take part in Erasmus+, what European partners expect – and which other cooperation routes exist for public bodies.
Matchmaking
Before you arrive, we collect your partnership profile and prepare structured one-to-one meetings.
Oxford & London
A week in one of the world’s great university cities, with a professional day in London.
Delegations welcome
Groups from one institution, ministry or country can book tailored dates and an extra institutional day.
Five days · approx. 20 teaching hours
The programme
Each course week comprises approx. 20 teaching hours (Monday to Friday), including the professional programme on the London Day.
We do not require a formal certificate such as TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge; your own assessment of your level is sufficient.
Day 1 · Monday
Europe’s Higher Education Landscape
How European universities and institutions work – and how they choose partners
- Welcome and introduction round
- The European Higher Education Area and the Bologna Process in practice
- How European International Offices select and manage partners
- Erasmus+ for partners outside the EU: International Credit Mobility, Capacity Building, Erasmus Mundus
- The UK’s return to Erasmus+ in 2027
- Welcome reception
Each participant presents their institution, its strengths and the partners they are looking for.
Day 2 · Tuesday
Partnership Marketplace
Joint day with European colleagues from our parallel Staff Week
- Structured one-to-one meetings with European colleagues
- Speed networking across regions
- What makes a partner attractive? Perspectives from both sides
- Partnership clinic: real cases from the group
- Cultural expectations in international cooperation
Meetings are matched in advance on the basis of the partnership profiles you send before arrival.
Day 3 · Wednesday · London Day
UK Higher Education & Internationalisation
From Oxford to London: a full-day professional and cultural programme
- Visit to a UK higher education institution or education organisation
- Insights into UK international strategy and partnerships
- Meeting UK-based international professionals
- Guided exploration of London
Day 4 · Thursday
From Contact to Project
Turning conversations into concrete cooperation
- Writing a partnership proposal European partners say yes to
- Inter-institutional agreements and MoUs: what to include
- Joint formats: staff exchange, joint webinars, blended intensive programmes
- Funding and cooperation options beyond Erasmus+, including for public bodies
- Networking dinner in a historic Oxford venue
Mixed teams of European and international participants design one concrete cooperation idea.
Day 5 · Friday
Partnership Roadmap
Leave with a plan, not just business cards
- Your personal partnership roadmap: priority partners and next steps
- Follow-up routines that keep partnerships alive
- Optional participant contact list (with consent)
- Feedback and Certificate of Attendance
Each participant leaves with a concrete action plan for the first months after returning home.
What you take home
By the end of the week, participants will have…
- personal contacts with colleagues from European universities and institutions
- a clear understanding of how partners outside the EU can take part in Erasmus+ and other cooperation routes
- a partnership profile of your own institution that you can reuse
- at least one joint cooperation idea developed with a European colleague
- insights into UK higher education ahead of the UK’s return to Erasmus+
- a partnership roadmap for your home institution
Europe is closer than you think.
Dates 2027
2 weeks to choose from
| Week | Programme days (Mon–Fri) | London day |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 7–11 June 2027 | Wednesday, 9 June |
| Week 2 | 27 September – 1 October 2027 | Wednesday, 29 September |
Programme fee per participant
Not included: accommodation in Oxford, travel to and from Oxford (e.g. flights, airport transfers), other meals.
Visa: depending on your nationality you may need a UK visa. We provide an official invitation letter – please apply early. Delegations of 5 or more from one institution receive 10 % off and can request tailored dates.
Registration & funding
How to fund your participation
Participants usually fund the week from institutional budgets for staff development and internationalisation, from project funds, or through their European partner university’s Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project where its rules allow this. Erasmus+ mobility funding is generally limited to higher education institutions, so ministries, municipalities, police and other public bodies usually take part on their own training or cooperation budgets. We are happy to advise on the options for your country.
Invitation letter
We provide an official invitation letter for your funding application and, where needed, your UK visa application.
Non-binding registration
Register online at any time. A registration is not a booking and creates no costs.
Delegations
Groups of 5 or more from one institution receive 10 % off and can request tailored dates.
Our venue
Where we teach
The Staff Mobility Institute Oxford has no campus of its own, and that is deliberate. We teach in hired seminar rooms in the historic heart of Oxford, in or close to the colleges of the University. For every course week we choose the room to suit the size of the group and the content of the course, and we pick places that let you feel what makes Oxford special: centuries of scholarship, college quads and the atmosphere of a living university city.
A course week might, for example, take place on St Giles, the broad avenue beside St John’s College, a few steps from the Eagle and Child, the pub where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis met with their literary circle, the Inklings, and where Tolkien read early chapters of The Lord of the Rings to his friends.
Central location
Our venues are within walking distance of Gloucester Green bus station, the railway station and the hotels we recommend.
Chosen for your course
The room fits the group size and the way the course works: group tables, a projector and a flipchart, so that you work together rather than just listen.
Beyond the classroom
Part of every programme takes place outside: a walking seminar through Oxford and a full day in London.
The exact venue depends on the course week, the group and room availability, so we cannot promise a particular building in advance. We confirm the address and directions with your joining information before you travel.
Getting there
How to get to Oxford
The most convenient way to arrive from abroad is via London Heathrow or London Gatwick airport, then directly into central Oxford on the Oxford Bus Company coach (“The Airline”).
✈ London Heathrow → Oxford
Coaches run directly from all Heathrow terminals and stop centrally at Gloucester Green bus station in Oxford, from where most accommodation is within walking distance.
✈ London Gatwick → Oxford
Also operated by Oxford Bus Company’s “The Airline”, also arriving at Gloucester Green bus station in the heart of Oxford.
Most visitors who do not need a visa, including citizens of EU and EEA countries and Switzerland, need an ETA to enter the UK. You apply online or in the official “UK ETA” app; it currently costs £20 and is valid for two years for any number of trips (or until your passport expires). A decision usually arrives within three working days, so please apply in good time. Irish citizens do not need an ETA. If you need a visa instead, we are happy to provide an invitation letter. Please check the current rules at gov.uk/eta before you travel.
Practical tips
Accommodation in Oxford
Recommendations for every budget
Accommodation is not included in the programme fee. Here are a few reliable recommendations across different price ranges, all well connected to the venue in central Oxford.
Royal Oxford Hotel
Central, right by the station — short walk to the venue and Gloucester Green.
Holiday Inn Oxford
Reliable standard, a little outside the centre, well connected.
Courtyard by Marriott Oxford City Centre
Right on the Thames, walking distance to the city centre.
Malmaison Oxford
Housed in a former prison — an unusual atmosphere, central location.
The Randolph Hotel (Graduate by Hilton)
Oxford’s most storied grand hotel, right in the historic centre.
Old Bank Hotel
Boutique hotel overlooking the Radcliffe Camera.
Please check prices and availability directly with the hotels or via standard booking platforms, as these vary by season and demand.
Registration
Register – without obligation
Your registration is not a booking. It reserves a place for you and creates no costs. We confirm a course week as soon as enough participants have registered.
- RegisterSend us your non-binding registration with the form below.
- Confirmation of the course weekOnce the minimum number of participants is reached – at the latest 8 weeks before the start – we confirm that the week takes place.
- Invoice & bookingOnly then do you receive your invoice and your place becomes binding. If a week does not take place, you pay nothing and we offer you an alternative date.
Please note: book flights and accommodation only after we have confirmed your course week.
Thank you – we have received your registration
We will reply by email within a few working days. Once the minimum number of participants is reached, we confirm the course week and send you the invoice. Until then your registration is non-binding and free of charge.
Almost done – please send the email
Your email program should have opened with your registration. Please send that email. If nothing opened, copy the text below and send it to info@staffmobilityinstituteoxford.co.uk.
Contact
Questions?
Write to us – for example about funding, delegations or a tailored week for your institution.
info@staffmobilityinstituteoxford.co.ukOn request, we are happy to send you a confirmation letter for your Erasmus+ funding application.