Due to the introduction of quarantine, many students had to change their plans.
The Czech Republic is quite attractive for foreign students. It is a relatively inexpensive country, which, moreover, is located in the very center of Europe, allowing travel across the continent and trips home for holidays and vacations.
Under the international Erasmus and Erasmus+ programs, over 10,000 European students arrived in the Czech Republic in the 2019/2020 academic year, almost 25% more than five years ago. In addition, young people from other continents also come here, so the number of foreign students is actually even higher.
However, quarantine has greatly affected the ability to travel and study abroad. In an exclusive interview with Radio Prague, the head of the International Department of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, Silvie Boumová, spoke about how student exchange programs will proceed in the new 2020/2021 academic year:
– In the 2020/2021 academic year, the exchange of students and academic staff under the Erasmus+ program will be carried out in the standard mode based on existing bilateral agreements. Students from foreign universities will be able to come to us, and studies at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University will take place in full-time form. Czech students also plan to travel abroad under the exchange program, but they will have to follow the current rules of the host countries.
International cooperation is always based on mutual agreement, on the desire to cooperate and maintain contact. Which universities have confirmed their desire to continue the student exchange program in 2020/2021?
– The Faculty of Arts of Charles University has one of the most extensive and branched exchange programs: we have many specialties and study programs, and a huge number of foreign languages are taught. Currently, over 350 student exchange agreements have been signed with various universities around the world. Only a few higher education institutions (mainly from Nordic countries) have announced the cancellation of studies in the winter semester of 2020/2021 or a switch to online mode. Distance learning is not very attractive to our students, who wanted to go abroad not only for education but also to gain experience of living in another country, to establish friendships and working connections. Some foreign universities have reported that their students will not be able to come to study with us in the winter semester of 2020/2021. Some universities are making changes to their academic mobility programs: canceling the OUT program (student travel abroad) or the IN program (hosting foreign students), but such cases are extremely rare. Most planned trips of students and academic staff remain in effect.
The Czech Republic was one of the first in Europe to close its borders and take security measures. This helped contain the spread of the infection, and the Czech Republic was also among the first to reopen borders with neighboring countries. However, free movement is currently only possible within the European Union. What about students from other countries? Will they be able to participate in exchange programs?
– Our cooperation with foreign universities is governed by existing bilateral agreements. Any changes will be adjusted depending on the situation in individual countries: entry conditions, the need to observe quarantine, and much more. Recently, the number of requests to change travel dates abroad has increased – from the winter semester of 2020/2021 to the summer semester or a year later.
Until recently, the Czech Republic had a mandatory quarantine rule for all arrivals. Does the Faculty of Arts of Charles University have the ability to provide students arriving from abroad with the conditions necessary for the quarantine period?
– This system was in place in the spring of this year, during the period of strict restrictions. Charles University dormitories set aside part of their premises specifically for students who were forced to be in quarantine, both foreign and Czech returning from abroad. We work in accordance with government directives, and since restrictions in the Czech Republic are gradually being lifted, there is no need for this now. But if necessary, we can reintroduce these measures.
Not only foreign students who wanted to come to study in the Czech Republic found themselves in a difficult situation, but also Czechs wishing to go abroad. Will they have such an opportunity in the new academic year? Will they be limited to choosing only European universities, or can they go to other countries of the world?
– It's all individual. Students who planned to go, say, to South America see that the situation there is critical and our ministry advises against traveling there, and they postpone the trip to the next semester. For us, the main parameter is the decisions of the ministry, which we must follow. But fortunately, students' interest in traveling abroad has not disappeared. We continue to recruit applicants, communicate with our foreign partners. Of course, if the situation worsens again, we will change plans. We try to be as flexible as possible.
As Silvie Boumová already noted, the Faculty of Arts is one of the largest at Charles University, cooperating with many foreign universities. Demand for participation in the exchange program is always high; for particularly popular foreign universities, registration begins a year before the trip. Does the faculty have the ability to accommodate students who, in the current situation, want to postpone their trip?
– Of course, we strive to help everyone. If we receive information from a partner university that they are canceling student admissions, we resolve the issue on a case-by-case basis: we offer to postpone deadlines, go to another university or another country, sometimes we simply advise canceling the trip. We really try to accommodate everyone depending on their individual needs.
The current Erasmus+ program was preceded by the Erasmus program, which in 1997 became one of the first student exchange programs in the Czech Republic. In addition, students at Czech universities can take advantage of special grants from individual universities or the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic. Silvie Boumová spoke about how many students the Faculty of Arts sent abroad and how many foreigners it accepted:
– Under the Erasmus+ program, the Faculty of Arts usually sends about 250 of its students to various universities around the world. In the winter semester of 2020/2021, there will be about 230, a very slight decrease, which I consider a great success for our faculty. As for other exchange programs, as well as trips outside the EU, the number of students has decreased more significantly – in the fall of 2020 there will be about 40, although usually about 80. As for the reception of foreigners, under the Erasmus+ program in the winter semester of 2020/2021, about 200 students are expected to come to the Faculty of Arts, previously there were about 300. Under other exchange programs, we expect 55 students (instead of the usual 80).
For those who decide not just to come to the Czech Republic on an exchange, but to get a full-fledged higher education here, the Faculty of Arts has a special program “Czech as a Foreign Language”. Every foreign student of Charles University can attend the course, but it is primarily aimed at those who plan to enter a university here in a year and study on an equal footing with Czech students. What about those who, for one reason or another, do not make it to the start of the academic year?
– This year at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, we have prepared a special program in the specialty “Czech as a Foreign Language”, guaranteed by our Institute of Czech Studies. The current situation has forced us to open not only full-time but also distance learning in the next academic year. The course will be presented online in full, with the same number of hours, with individual consultations, with phonetics classes. This is how we want to accommodate those students who, due to border closures or suspension of consulate operations and visa issuance, will not be able to participate in the full-time program or will arrive late. From the summer semester, they will be able to join their classmates and study full-time. In addition, we are opening an online course Czech Online for students studying Czech studies at foreign universities. It is designed for students with basic language knowledge of at least A1 level. The difficult situation that arose this spring has become a kind of challenge and stimulus for us to create and develop distance learning programs.