West University of Timişoara (UVT) hosted during March of this year 157 students from partner universities across Europe, who participated together with UVT students in courses organized within the framework of the Intensive Mixed Programs (PIM) / Blended Intensive Programs (BIP), funded by the European Commission's Erasmus+ program.
A continuously growing international educational offer at UVT
Starting in 2021, UVT is attracting Erasmus+ funding to organize these innovative programs, which combine online participation in virtual courses with short-term physical mobility at the host university. In the 2025–2026 academic year, 17 such programs are planned at the West University of Timișoara, dedicated to students from all three study cycles (bachelor, master and doctoral), covering various fields and current topics. For example, those in March addressed topics such as: Beyond the Game: How Prioritizing Employee Health Boosts Business Performance, International Data Cycle Project, Timișoara Chamber Music Week, Cross-Cultural Approach to Sustainability in a Globalized Context, interculturality, Intercomprehension for Languages for Specific Purposes.
To date, UVT has organized over 40 mixed intensive programs in Timisoara, in partnership with over 100 universities from abroad. An important role is played by UVT's membership in the European university alliance UNITA, which provides an institutional context favorable to international cooperation, the development of joint teaching activities. Each Mixed Intensive Program is developed within a partnership between at least three universities from different countries, involving not only students, but also teaching staff from these universities. Its completion is rewarded with transferable academic credits (ECTS), offering students a recognized international experience during their university career.
Bilateral impact: mobility in both directions
The Mixed Intensive Programs generate opportunities for both foreign students coming to Timișoara and UVT students – the latter benefiting from an international learning experience at home, alongside teaching staff and colleagues from abroad. Equally, they have the opportunity to participate in similar programs coordinated by universities across Europe, an opportunity that UVT students are taking advantage of in increasing numbers, many of whom subsequently become true promoters of the program. It is estimated that, this academic year alone, approximately 450 UVT students will undertake a mobility abroad through an Erasmus+ Mixed Intensive Program, and the university will, in turn, receive a similar number of international students within the 17 programs it hosts – varied in topics, in an extremely current educational approach.
Internationalization and innovation in education
"Along with the direct learning experience, these programs stimulate didactic innovation and the internationalization of curricula in all universities involved, contributing to the modernization of the academic offer and the flexibility of the students' academic path. UVT continues to be a dynamic and proactive university in developing an attractive campus and a study offer with European and, in general, international visibility, the growing number of international students coming to our university, including to these intensive mixed programs, being the most appropriate confirmation", is stated in the official position of the institution, transmitted by its rector, Prof. Dr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea.
