IKAS – Intercultural Skills for Administrative Staff in HEI

European universities have become increasingly international over the past few decades. This is also widely reflected in the need for university support services to develop and deepen their ability to serve in English and operate in a multicultural environment. The IKAS project aims to respond to this need.

Université de Caen Normandie, France

Universidad de Valladolid, Spain

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia

Univerzita Pardubice. Czech Republic

University of Fribourg, Switzerland

University of Lapland, Finland

IKAS Project: Strengthening intercultural skills of university administrative staff across Europe

The AcrossEU Alliance has been granted a 400 000€ fund by the French Erasmus Agency for a new three-year project: IKAS – Intercultural Skills for Administrative Staff in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). This project will be carried out by the University of Lapland, the University of Caen Normandy, the University of Valladolid, the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, the University of Pardubice, and the University of Fribourg and will directly benefit 120 administrative staff members from these six partner universities.

This project has been created to enhance the language and intercultural skills of administrative staff to meet the needs of increasingly international university community. IKAS project focuses on four key objectives:

Strengthen intercultural and linguistic competence
Promote cross-institutional collaboration and mobility
Enhance digital skills and accessibility of training
Ensure long-term impact and sustainability

The participants will benefit from a genuine career boost, professional development, career advancement, and networking opportunities.

IKAS represents a significant step in strengthening the international dimension of the member institutions. The results of the project will be shared at a wider scale for the higher education institutions across Europe. By providing administrative staff with intercultural, linguistic, and digital skills, the project helps universities face the challenges of international cooperation with confidence.

Through this initiative, the participating institutions will contribute to building a more inclusive, connected, and future-oriented academic environment.

Boost your career and apply to IKAS training!

University of Lapland participates in the IKAS project – Intercultural Skills for Administrative Staff in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). Joining the training offers a unique opportunity to improve your skills in English language and intercultural communication in a truly international context.

The training provides you with the skills needed to handle tasks and situations in an international context. It takes place online and includes weekly teaching sessions and independent work. At the end of the program, the participants will meet for one-week staff course abroad.

University of Lapland supports the selected participants by allowing the training to take place during working hours if so agreed with your supervisor. Participants who successfully complete the training will receive an official recognition in the form of an open badge.

The call for application begins in February 2026.
Contact your home university to apply!

Kick-off meeting in Caen

Teachers and staff members gathered in an enthusiastic atmosphere at the University of Caen Normandie in mid-November for the IKAS project kick-off meeting. IKAS – Intercultural Skills for Administrative Staff in Higher Education Institutions – aims to enhance the language and intercultural skills of administrative staff to meet the needs of increasingly international university communities.

Delegations from five partner universities arrived at Caen to further develop pedagogical solutions, to share responsibilities and to agree on the overall management of IKAS project. It is very motivating for the highly professional teachers to exchange expertise and address common challenges together.

The IKAS project partners are the University of Caen Normandie, the University of Lapland, the University of Valladolid, the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, the University of Pardubice, University of Lapland and the University of Fribourg. The IKAS project receives funding from the French Erasmus Agency and Movetia – the Swiss National Agency for Exchange and Mobility.

The Normandy region generously supported the project by covering the costs of bringing additional members from partners universities to the kick-off meeting in Caen.