Welcome TULbox_2.0 - Development of the potential of Lodz University of Technology in the field of integration of foreigners

Purpose of the project:
Increasing the level of internationalization of Lodz University of Technology, in particular by promoting TUL as an attractive place to study, work and conduct research for foreign students, doctoral students and staff, and by creating favorable conditions for foreigners to function and greater integration in the academic environment at TUL.

Tasks:
Development of the potential of the Lodz University of Technology in the field of integration of foreign students and staff from abroad by organizing integration meetings that will contribute to mutual recognition and intercultural understanding; ensuring the availability of essential information about the functioning of universities in English for English-speaking students and lecturers and creating an e-learning course preparing foreign students for a full cycle of studies to function in the academic environment of Lodz University of Technology.

Production of promotional videos that will be used to promote the educational offer of Lodz University of Technology on the Internet abroad; implementation of a promotional campaign for studies at Lodz University of Technology in cooperation with foreign bloggers and YouTubers, which will allow to reach wider target groups.
Securing service points for foreigners in TUL International Cooperation Centre against the risk of spreading the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementation period: 01/06/2021-31/05/2023

Project budget: 397 270.00 PLN

Project financed by Welcome to Poland program of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange

 

Task 1

Intercultural integration meetings for students and staff of Lodz University of Technology - TUL Culture Bite / Gryz Kultury w PŁ

Food brings people together when we share it! was the slogan of "TUL Culture Bite/Gryz Kultury w TUL" - 5 cultural and culinary integration meetings. The aim of the task was to get to know each other, build relationships and allow intercultural integration between Polish students and employees of Lodz University of Technology and students and TUL staff coming from abroad through participation in joint meetings and cultural and culinary events.The joint meetings were an opportunity to learn about the culture and traditions of different countries and contributed to getting to know each other better and strengthening intercultural ties.

      

■ The "First Organizational Meeting" was a meeting of newly admitted foreign students, Polish students and Polish administrative staff working with foreigners. It was organized outdoors in the Klepacza park belonging to Lodz University of Technology, which allowed to emphasize the theme of the meeting, i.e. the time of harvest and preserves typical of Polish culture in this period and in autumn.

■ "Christmas Dinner": an atmospheric Christmas dinner dedicated to the celebration of Christmas, during which the participants got acquainted with Christmas customs and traditions (not only culinary) from the end/beginning of the year in Poland and countries represented by students and staff of TUL. Due to the restrictions related to the pandemic, the meeting was organized in the form of an outdoor happening on the TUL campus to limit the possibility of the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

■ "Easter Breakfast". The theme of the third event was Easter, which allowed foreign students and employees to familiarize themselves with the culture and traditions of Poland. During the meeting, the invited guests enjoyed the competitions, e.g. painted Easter eggs, helped themselves to delicious Easter food and participated in integration games.

■ Summary of the first year of studies: addressed to foreign students in their first year of study, who had the opportunity to summarize their first year at Lodz University of Technology in an informal atmosphere. The meeting was organized on the campus of Lodz University of Technology in the historic park of the university, which allowed for the integration of nice natural circumstances that emphasized the theme of the event, which was "picnic".

The implementation of the task directly contributed to the implementation of the project's goals related to the intensification of the activities of Lodz University of Technology in the field of "internationalization at home", as well as better integration of foreigners (students and staff) at the university. The possibility of getting to know each other and intercultural understanding also contributed to improving the quality of service for foreigners at the university.

Task 2

Preparation of promotional films and foreign promotion of the education offer of Lodz University of Technology on YouTube and in social media (Facebook and Instagram) - YouTUL

First step was to shoot 4 short films. They were professionally produced by an external company to promote the educational offer of the Lodz University of Technology - one film, a 30-second video presenting the general profile of the university and three 6-second bumper videos introducing the audience to the three fields of study and encouraging them to participate in recruitment, each in 5 language versions. The recordings were made on the campuses of the university with the use of its infrastructure and the involvement of students university and teaching and administration staff, which allowed potential candidates to study the university and its character.

In the second step the films were used in the campaign promoting studies at Lodz University of Technology in accordance with the previously prepared promotion plan, taking into account strategic for university promotion, countries and target groups of the campaign. The promotion was carried out in social media on the Facebook and Instagram platforms and on YouTube. The promotion of the university online was carried out primarily for the purpose of promoting three recruitments for the winter semester of the academic year 2022/2023 in June and July 2022, for the summer semester of the academic year 2022/2023 in November and December and for the winter semester of the academic year 2023/2024 in April and May 2023.

As a result of the implemented action, the university achieved the following goals:
■ reaching foreign candidates from countries strategic for the university through paid promotion of the educational offer of the Lodz University of Technology with the use of film materials created as a result of the task;
■ achieving high reach of paid advertising at the level of over 10-40 thousand per day, and thus increased interest in the university's offer;
■ internationalization of the university, including maintaining the interest of foreign candidates in studying at the Lodz University of Technology during the difficult period of the pandemic and encouraging to study abroad after graduation.

 

Task 3

Promotion campaign of studies at Lodz University of Technology in cooperation with foreign bloggers and YouTubers - #TULinspires

Lodz University of Technology implemented an innovative promotional campaign in cooperation with influencers operating in social media and on the Internet, as well as reaching foreign candidates from regions and countries that are priority for the Lodz University of Technology.

As part of the task, cooperation was established with a foreign agency specializing in influencer marketing and having experience in cooperation with universities,
whose experience facilitated cooperation with foreign influencers.
Five selected influencers from Bangladesh and Kazakhstan, Egypt, Singapore and Nigeria, whose profiles were consistent with the assumptions of the advertising campaign, realized promotional campaigns targeted at recipients from countries and regions from which the university was planning to attract an increased number of candidates for studies. Campaigns supported promotional activities informing about recruitment for the academic year 2022/2023 and 2023/2024.

We invite you to check some of them out!
1) https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoF02Pvuybm/ (https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoF02Pvuybm/)
2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67WVNA4Q2CE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67WVNA4Q2CE)
3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15TkMb-qXvk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15TkMb-qXvk)
4) https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoF02Pvuybm/ (https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoF02Pvuybm/)
5) https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm_ar9XgHBS/?igshid=NWQ4MGE5ZTk%3D (https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm_ar9XgHBS/?igshid=NWQ4MGE5ZTk%3D)

By establishing cooperation with young and opinion-forming people, the university was able to reach the potential target group more effectively and gain more interest from foreign candidates in its offer.

The task will contribute to increasing the potential of TUL in the field of foreign promotion with new, innovative methods of acquiring candidates for studies from abroad and increasing the range of promotional activities of the university among potential candidates.

Task 4

E-learning course preparing foreign students studying for a full cycle to function in the academic environment of TUL - WelcomeToTUL / WitajNaPŁ

We're happy to announce that we created an e-learning course - "Welcome to TUL/Welcome to TUL" introducing foreigners to the issues of academic culture, specific regulations and principles of higher education in Poland, and practical communication skills in the academic environment. The course was created in two language versions, in Polish and English, and is aimed primarily at new students and adapted for independent implementation throughout the year on the WIKAMP university platform.

The publication of the course took place in September 2022. The promotion of the course started in September and was carried out both online and in person, e.g. during meetings information and organization with newly admitted students.

The implementation of the task directly contributed to facilitating the integration of foreign students in the academic environment at TUL by familiarizing them with the principles and practical aspects of functioning and communication at the university. In addition, it contributed to increasing the organizational potential of TUL in terms of servicing foreign students and enabled the introduction of a permanent tool supporting the preparation of foreign students admitted for a full cycle of studies to function in the
academic in Poland.

Task 5

Ensuring the availability of relevant information on the functioning of the university in English

The task allowed us to facilitate the university's foreign students and staff access to information and better understanding of the principles of functioning at the university by providing translations into English of current announcements and internal documents.

The content into English was translated by a team of translators of the Language Center of Lodz University of Technology, specialized in translations concerning the functioning of the university and knowing both the specifics of the university itself and the general vocabulary used in the area of higher education, which allowed to ensure high quality of the work done.

In the first place, messages regarding the epidemic situation and the rules applicable at the university related to preventing the spread were translated
epidemic and ensuring safety on campus, and after the pandemic, the largest number of translations were general regulations or resolutions applicable to all foreign students and university employees, as well as the content of portals and websites of the Lodz University of Technology.
The translated content was made available on the university's websites and social media on an ongoing basis.

As a result of the task, a total of 142 documents and files were translated, making up a total of 1049 standard pages (1800 characters with spaces) needed in the daily functioning and service of foreign students and employees of various units of the Lodz University of Technology.

Task 6

Securing service points for foreigners in ICC against the risk of spreading the COVID-19 pandemic

The task allowed us to purchase security measures contributing to the functioning and improvement of student service safety and implementation was carried out
didactic classes at TUL International Cooperation Centre.
The purchased materials were used in rooms and points of direct service for foreigners: primarily in the Student Assistance Office (as a single service point that acts as a Welcome Center for foreign students at TUL), Student Mobility Division, Staff Mobility Division, didactic rooms of the International Cooperation Centre and at the front desk and in the cloakroom.

Purchases were made in direct correlation to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rules and guidelines adopted by the university on preventing the spread of the virus, current rules for the functioning of the university in a pandemic situation and guidelines from the ministry.

The aim of the task was to ensure greater safety for students and foreign staff, as well as people serving them in the International Cooperation Center of TUL, and to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in places where there are more people. This applies in particular to rooms and points of direct service for foreigners: primarily the Student Assistance Office (as a single point of service that acts as a Welcome Center for foreign students at TUL), Student Mobility Section, Staff Mobility Section, teaching rooms of the International Education Centre, porter's lodge and dressing room).

The purchase of additional security measures contributed to enabling the functioning and improvement of the safety of student service and didactic classes.

 

Task 7

Active online and offline promotion of Lodz University of Technology

The implementation of the task in the field of offline promotion allowed Lodz University of Technology to participate in fairs, after a long pandemic break, organized in key countries in terms of university promotion among potential candidates. The implementation of the task in the field of online promotion allowed for the implementation of paid campaigns advertising campaigns on the Internet, which made it possible to reach potential foreign candidates with the university's educational offer.

As a result of the task, in the context of offline foreign promotion, the university took part in 14 foreign fairs, including those organized by NAWA, and conducted 2 promotional campaigns directly in a country key for promotion. The university communicated its educational offer in a total of 7 countries: Rwanda, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Argentina and Brazil.
In the context of online foreign promotion, paid advertising campaigns were conducted and implemented on the Internet, informing about the offer of Lodz University of Technology, including a campaign encouraging, among others, participation in a virtual open week or campaigns encouraging direct meetings with university representatives at foreign fairs.

As a result of the implemented action, the university achieved the goals of ensuring increased interest in the educational offer of Lodz University of Technology, securing the increase in the internationalization of the university through the national diversity of candidates for studies and establishing cooperation, as well as building and strengthening relations with current and new partners from countries key for the internationalization of the university.