SYNDIKAT of HETEROLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Welcome

This blog was created as part of the Erasmus Mundus Crossways in Cultural Narratives Masters programme, which is the only one of the EU approved and funded Erasmus Mundus Masters programmes to specialise in traditional humanities with a modern languages background. The Crossways Consortium comprises 6 top-class European universities.

For further information, please check the programme's official website and the universities' websites on the Useful Links section on the left. If you wish to have a specific question answered, please click on Email here and submit your query.

Mundus students, here you will find regular posts regarding the universities of the consortium, tips, activities, events, pictures, etc. Apart from checking it regularly to keep yourself up to date, a good way to use the blog is through the search device. We already have a significant amount of information on some universities of the consortium, so if you want to find information on a specific city, type its name in the search field (top left). You will then see all posts related to that specific city (because each post title contains the city's name in it). You can also type "General" in order to find information concerning everybody.

Tuesday, 21 October 2008

General Meeting: Alumni participation

Dear Crossways alumni,

I believe you have been receiving emails regarding first Crossways General Meeting. It will take place in St Andrews from Friday, 27 November to Sunday, 28 November 2008. Even if you are not going, we would very much like your contribution. There are several ways to participate "remotely":

1) As alumnus, your opinions and suggestions regarding the programme are extremely valuable because you have been through the whole Crossways experience. You could then write the your opinion regarding the Crossways experience and suggestions on how to improve it. We will use it in our discussions (anonymously, if you like).

2) There is also a *very* nice way to participate, which involves a bit more work. You could send us a short video (5-6 minutes):

* introducing yourself (name, nationality, what was your mobility track, etc)

* sharing with us your "post-Crossways" experience. Did you find a job? How easily? Did you apply for PhDs? Any tips?

* a short message for us, current students =)

Of course this is just a suggestion and you can add anything else! The video would have to be posted to me on a CD, which is a bit of a hassle, but definitely worth it!

3) Another alternative is to write instead of a recording it, in which case we would hang it on a panel "Alumni experience" .

It would be so great to be able to count with your help, so please let me know if you are up for it!

And keep an eye on our blog (http://heterologies-perpi.blogspot.com/). Updates on the event will be posted there.

I will be looking forward to hearing from you all.

Warm regards,

Roberta Gregoli

Saturday, 18 October 2008

General: 1st Conference call

I am happy to say that our first conference was a success! The participants were: Anna, Brendon, Jutta and Paul.

Among other things we discussed:

Life in Perpignan (thanks, Brendon, for the valuable tips!)

- Transportation: the cheapest way to get to Perpignan and around

- French and Schengen visa

- Places to visit around Perpi

- Canigou residence and accommodation in general

Accommodation in St Andrews: Albany Park (thanks, Paul!);
Bank-related problems and solutions
Mundus meetings and conferences (I hope it happens, Anna :)
GM in St Andrews: ideas on the organisation and schedule.

It was such a nice experience that we decided to make these virtual gatherings more often. So the next phone conference is on Wednesday, 12 November at 7pm. For the next meeting, we decided to have an agenda. So you can feel free to start emailing me topics for discussion.

Thanks a lot for all participants' involvement! And all the other are equally welcome to the next one.

Thursday, 16 October 2008

General Meeting 2008: Participants

Dear GM participants,

First of all, thank you for your participation! I am happy to say that, for the first edition of the Crossways General Meeting, we are 27 participants from all universities of the consortium except Santiago.

ACCOMMODATION - we did get funding for the two nights of accommodation. However, this has left us almost no money for the photo exhibition or dinner arrangements. So, if wrote on the registration form that you needed to stay in a hostel but are not yet sure if you're coming or not, please let us know NOW. Because you don't manage to go, we will use this money towards the other events of the meeting.

PHOTO EXHIBITION - Please spread the word about it, because even students who are not going can participate! Please check the blog for the procedure on how to participate in the next few days.

DELEGATES - The confirmed delegates so far are:

Perpignan - Poonam (and perhaps Maria?)

St Andrews - Delphine M

Tübingen - Lisda

Sheffield - Anna

Still waiting for delegates from Bergamo and Lisbon. Any volunteers?

The delegates' responsibilities are

i) organise a meeting with all students (and eventual alumni) in the city where they are

ii) prepare an agenda for the meeting to get the discussion going

iii) send me a report or list of issues AND suggested solutions discussed

It would be cool if we could have the reports as soon as possbile - the meeting is in only 5 weeks!