Immediately after the opening of Erasmus+ to third country institutions in 2015, the Tbilisi State Conservatoire (TBC) decided to make use of this opportunity to getting closer to the rest of Europe . More than 40 TSC students currently study within the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility in European HMEIs and gain experiences that they will later use for influencing organisational changes at their home institution.
Europeanisation and Internationalisation are intertwined at TSC. Considering the turbulent and unstable situation in the region, TSC stands out as the leading institution in implementing KA171 projects (23 active projects during the 2022-23 year). The interest of students and staff to participate in international projects and mobilities is outstanding due to years-long work and good practice. AEC networking and Erasmus+ projects have pushed boundaries for TSC as they established new partnerships, new study courses and curricula, designed a new system for orchestra projects, formed working groups involving students, democratised the study environment and focused on student-centred education.
With the help and encouragement of the AEC to expand its network of partner institutions and plan and develop new project ideas, TSC has managed to grow the number of both student and staff mobilities up to 45 outgoing students and 55 outgoing staff mobilities during 2022, which is an impressive number for an institution with a total student population of 475.
We are glad to see that this small institution from outside the EU/EEA can still make the change and develop in various ways through Internationalisation in sustainable practices, where bottom-up management approaches are used and grassroots voices are heard.
Tbilisi State Conservatoire is a valued member of our European family, and we wish them success in their path towards more integration and collaboration.
