ACADEMIC MOBILITY PROGRAMS AS A MECHANISM FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONALIZATION PROCESS OF POLISH HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study academic mobility programs that are being implemented in Poland as a mechanism for implementing the internationalization process of higher education and allow to assess the level of the country's involvement in such events and to form further prospects for development in this direction. Author noted that the most important impetus for the development of the internationalization of higher education in the European Union as a whole and in Poland was the Bologna process. Special attention is focused on the fact that the country is an active participant in it, which allows, against the background of preserving the best traditions of the national higher education system, to increase the competitiveness of universities, to join the unified educational space. The importance of academic mobility programs as a mechanism for implementing internationalization processes has been proven. The level of academic mobility development in Poland is analysed. The main trends in the implementation of these processes in institutions of higher education were studied. Approaches have been established that provide the opportunity to achieve diversity in models, priorities, and geography, going beyond the boundaries of the European community. A set of tasks aimed at the academic mobility development in the country and measures implemented to intensify the use of programs in this area have been defined. We argue that academic mobility programs implemented in the country are divided into international (pan-European), those offered at the national level and universities. The characteristic features of several such initiatives, their direction and conditions are analysed. The variety of offers in both Polish and English languages is emphasized, which contributes to attracting the attention of both students and teaching staff from different countries. Attention is focused on certain types of financial support and assistance, which are provided in the form of various scholarships and grants. The need for systematic activity in the direction of the development of academic mobility programs was noted. A set of measures has been formed, which should be implemented at different levels of management (national and university) and aimed at increasing the efficiency and intensification of these processes in Poland.